2007 Napa Valley Vintage

2007 was the mirror image of 2006's opening. The Napa Valley Vintners reported that the year began dry, with some very cold days and single-digit nighttime temperatures around the New Year holiday, the opposite of the floods that greeted the start of 2006. The season continued dry, running about 60 percent of normal precipitation throughout the appellation. The chart logs 0.58 inches in January, 8.23 in February, then 0.4 in March, 1.48 in April and 0.5 in May. Temperatures were warmer than normal as winter carried into spring, producing earlier budding, bloom and set across all varieties. Soils dried early because of the low precipitation, which halted canopy production early in the season. Genevieve Janssens of Robert Mondavi Winery told Wine Spectator that after a dry winter and a warm, dry spring, the grapes got off to an early start with a smaller crop. Early bud break carried frost risk, but Ludovic Dervin of Domaine Chandon reported that they had no damage in the end. Then summer refused to cooperate with the early forecast. The growing season continued on the mild to cool side, with few days topping 100 degrees even in the warmest locations in the appellation, and notably fewer days in the 90s. That changed early predictions that 2007 would be an unusually early harvest and brought picking to a more traditional, even relaxed pace. There was a brief period of heat that spiked around Labor Day before cooling after several days, and the Napa Valley Vintners credited that spike with adding the boost of sugar development growers were looking for to complement the excellent acid structure in the white varieties. Wine Spectator described the same pattern, noting the year lacked the usual August and September heat spikes apart from the Labor Day blast, that the weather turned cool and even chilly in September, and that periodic rainstorms followed. Thin-skinned whites, Riesling, Chenin Blanc, Sauvignon Blanc and then still-wine Chardonnay, began in late August and continued into mid September, while sparkling picking accelerated in the last week of August. Carneros Pinot Noir ran an extended harvest into October, per Anna Moller-Racke of Donum Estate, and Cabernet came in with ease through September and October in warmer sites such as Oakville and Rutherford. Some winemakers, Wine Spectator reported, were on the verge of panic picking in mid October as a storm front approached.

• The season ran at about 60 percent of normal precipitation, with very cold nights and a dry start around the New Year
• A warm winter into spring produced earlier budding, bloom and set across all varieties, and dried soils halted canopy growth early
• Frost risk followed the early bud break but caused no damage, per Ludovic Dervin of Domaine Chandon
• Summer ran mild to cool with few days over 100 degrees, which reversed the early-harvest forecast and relaxed the pace
• A brief Labor Day heat spike supplied the sugar development growers wanted alongside strong acid structure in the whites
• September turned cool and chilly with periodic rainstorms, and a mid-October storm front had some growers near panic picking

Fruit condition in 2007 was as clean as the volume was short. Toby Halkovich, viticulturist at Cakebread Cellars, said the moderate weather combined with very low disease and pest pressure left the vines and the fruit in very good condition. Michael Weis of Groth Vineyards put it in three phrases: no botrytis, no raisins, long hang time. Allen Price of Casa Nuestra reported that the 2007 Riesling fruit was very clean, with lower amounts of botrytis than in previous years. The dry season showed up in size rather than health. The Napa Valley Vintners reported that clusters, and the individual berries on them, though set at a normal quantity, were notably smaller in all varieties because of the dryness. Barbara Insel of MKF Research expected the harvest to come in down 5 to 10 percent in all varieties from an average year, and noted that with 2006 also down, the two-year cycle had leveled out any oversupply in the market for Napa Valley appellation fruit. Remi Cohen of Merryvale Vineyards summed the trade up: the vintage is below average in terms of yields, but of very promising quality.

• Very low disease and pest pressure left vines and fruit in very good condition, per Toby Halkovich of Cakebread Cellars
• Michael Weis of Groth Vineyards reported no botrytis, no raisins and long hang time
• Clusters set at normal quantity but berries were notably smaller in all varieties because of the dry season
• Barbara Insel of MKF Research expected yields down 5 to 10 percent from an average year across all varieties
• Two consecutive down years leveled out oversupply in the market for Napa Valley appellation fruit

These are impressions from October 2007, recorded while fruit was still coming in. Pat Stotesbery of Ladera Vineyards on Howell Mountain, one of the last areas in the valley to finish, said there was finally light at the end of the vine row, with lots of frayed nerves but terrifically fresh profiles in the juice and wine, and outstanding quality with great acid level. Michael Weis of Groth Vineyards and Winery needed one word: stunning is the only way to describe the 2007 vintage. Genevieve Janssens of Robert Mondavi Winery was more measured, telling Wine Spectator it was still too early to say if it was a great vintage but that it was a very, very good one, especially for Cabernet, with tannins that were sweet and delicious.

• Pat Stotesbery of Ladera Vineyards on Howell Mountain reported fresh profiles and great acid levels after a nervy finish
• Michael Weis of Groth Vineyards called 2007 stunning
• Genevieve Janssens of Robert Mondavi Winery called it a very, very good year for Cabernet while declining to call it great that early
• The Napa Valley Vintners framed the year as growers staying flexible and winemakers being delighted