2006 Napa Valley Vintage

2006 opened underwater. Flooding kicked off the New Year in Napa Valley, which the Napa Valley Vintners noted made for great television footage but did little damage to dormant vines, as cover crops stabilized soils in the vineyards while rain continued into spring. The chart records 7.67 inches in January, 5.09 in February, 11.15 in March and 6.96 in April, then a hard stop at 0.04 inches in May. All that water delayed bud break by a few weeks, with the chart's bud markers sitting in April rather than March. By June the weather had turned and the vines began to bloom and set fruit. The wet spring left a legacy in the clusters. Craig Williams of Joseph Phelps Vineyards told Wine Spectator that the cool, wet spring led to early botrytis and slowed ripening, forcing adjustments in the vineyard. Then came the heat. In mid July a record-setting heat wave lasted about ten days. Because the crop was running a few weeks behind the historically normal cycle, damage was almost nil, and the Napa Valley Vintners reported that most growers agreed the heat helped catch the vines up to a normal place in the season. Clusters that took sunburn were removed during the normal post-veraison thinning. Wine Spectator corroborated the sunburn from July heat spikes. Cool weather returned in August and stayed. Jon Priest of Etude, whose Pinot Noir harvest began in early September, said the mild weather pattern continued throughout their three-week harvest, allowing for moderately paced and deliberate ripening. Cool weather dominated early October with some rain in the first week, though most white varieties were already in. Sauvignon Blanc at Frog's Leap in Rutherford was all picked by September 10, per John Williams. Reds waited. Michael Weis of Groth Vineyards and Winery said they would be harvesting two to three weeks later than average for Cabernet, in order to maximize maturity without developing the monster sugars that can plague a warmer year.

• New Year flooding did little damage to dormant vines, with cover crops stabilizing vineyard soils
• Bud break was delayed by a few weeks after a wet spring of 11.15 inches in March and 6.96 in April
• A record-setting ten-day heat wave in mid July caused almost no damage and helped the late crop catch up
• Cool weather returned in August and allowed moderately paced ripening through a three-week Pinot Noir harvest at Etude
• Rain fell in the first week of October, after most white varieties were already picked
• Groth harvested Cabernet two to three weeks later than average to reach maturity without excessive sugars

The cost of the wet spring showed up months later. David Graves of Saintsbury, describing the Carneros Chardonnay and Pinot Noir harvest, told Wine Spectator he did not think anyone anticipated how much botrytis pressure was already present in the clusters due to the wet spring. Craig Williams reported the same early botrytis and slowed ripening from the spring conditions. The July heat spikes sunburned berries on top of that. Then, per Wine Spectator, it turned cool near harvest and rot was evident in many vineyards, some of which were not even picked at all. Tony Soter of Etude, who thought highly of the vintage overall, was direct about the downside: he was dismayed to see so many vineyards not being picked. The Napa Valley Vintners did not publish an aggregate yield figure for the season, and none appears in the sources consulted here.

• David Graves of Saintsbury reported unanticipated botrytis pressure already present in Carneros clusters from the wet spring
• July heat spikes sunburned berries, with damaged clusters removed during post-veraison thinning
• A cool stretch near harvest left rot evident in many vineyards, some of which went unpicked
• No aggregate yield figure for Napa 2006 appears in the sources consulted

These are contemporaneous impressions from October 2006, not later judgments. Hugh Davies of Schramsberg Vineyards, speaking for the Napa Valley Vintners, framed the year as a growers year and said that thanks to excellent agricultural practices the quality of varieties across the board appeared spectacular. Tony Soter of Etude went further on the reds, telling Wine Spectator that for him the Cabernets of 2006 were the best they had seen since 2002, with compelling concentration and a very expressive personality, fine-grained tannins and long finishes. Michael Martini of Louis M. Martini Winery said the 2006 Cabernet vintage in Napa Valley was turning out to be a very vibrant year, and that tight tannins lent the notion the wines should be long lived.

• Hugh Davies of Schramsberg called it a growers year with spectacular quality across the varieties
• Tony Soter of Etude called the 2006 Cabernets the best he had seen since 2002, with fine-grained tannins and long finishes
• Michael Martini of Louis M. Martini Winery described a vibrant year with tight tannins suggesting longevity
• The vintage's own framing from the Napa Valley Vintners was a grower's challenge but a winemaker's dream