2009 Willamette Valley / Oregon Vintage

The most precise account of 2009 comes from Dr. Greg Jones, the Southern Oregon University climatologist who compiled heat accumulation for the Oregon Wine Board. Growing degree day totals came in at 2,985 for Roseburg, 3,384 for Medford and 3,402 for Milton-Freewater, a 4 to 14 percent increase over 2008 and similar to the warm 2004 and 2006 vintages. McMinnville, the Willamette Valley reference point, recorded 2,161, a 7 percent increase over 2008 and near 2005 levels, though the figure sat slightly below the seven-year average. That last number is the only quantified multi-year average in the record, and it concerns heat, not tonnage. Jones described the weather signature of the year as one of high week-to-week temperature variability, with wide swings between record high and record low maximum temperatures, but with little to no effect on resulting fruit quality. Rain arrived twice at inconvenient moments, over the Labor Day weekend in early September and the Columbus Day weekend in mid-October, and neither event negatively affected grape quality. Botrytis pressure was apparent but relatively low, and growers reported it was easily sorted on the crushpad. The defining heat event came late in September. Dick Shea of Shea Vineyard reported almost record long hang time that year, with deeply ripe fruit, and said that because of a three-day late-September heat spike sugars got quite high, though he found the wines in balance. A final heat spike at harvest dehydrated many clusters, reducing yields and concentrating flavors. Ken Wright described the sequence at his own sites: three weeks before harvest, an inch of rain over a weekend, followed by several warm days near 90 degrees with drying winds, and concerns about desiccation and shriveling that gave way to fresh fruit aromatics with an emphasis on the high notes. The finish cooled. Jones reported that a forecast warm and dry harvest period gave way to cooler than expected conditions in late September and early October, but that the majority of the fruit statewide was at or near its ripening plateau. Extended hang time was reported throughout the state, as growers and winemakers waited for optimal flavor development to counter slightly elevated sugars. Harvest continued into the third week of October for the Willamette Valley and eastern Oregon, and through the end of the month in southern Oregon. On volume, the Oregon Wine Board's headline read plentiful yields in the Willamette Valley with near normal crop loads throughout the rest of the state, and Steve Girard of Benton-Lane Winery named big berries as a defining characteristic of the year. No numeric five-year average tonnage comparison appears in the sources consulted.

• Growing degree days ran 4 to 14 percent above 2008 at Roseburg, Medford and Milton-Freewater, similar to the warm 2004 and 2006 vintages
• McMinnville recorded 2,161 growing degree days, up 7 percent on 2008 but slightly below the seven-year average
• The season showed high week-to-week variability, with record high and record low maximum temperatures and little to no effect on fruit quality
• Labor Day and Columbus Day weekend rain events did not negatively affect grape quality; botrytis pressure was apparent but low and easily sorted
• A three-day late-September heat spike pushed sugars quite high, and a final heat spike at harvest dehydrated clusters, reducing yields and concentrating flavors
• Cooler than expected conditions in late September and early October met fruit that was at or near its ripening plateau
• Harvest continued into the third week of October in the Willamette Valley, with plentiful yields and big berries reported

Oregon Wine Board executive director Ted Farthing called 2009 another classic vintage, by a whisker. Harry Peterson-Nedry of Chehalem expected the Pinot Noirs to be flashy and spectacular, citing good heat for phenolic ripeness, cool final ripening conditions over the last three to four weeks to retain acidity, and yields that would give great wines in good quantity. Ted Casteel of Bethel Heights Vineyard called it that rare combination of excellent quality and quantity and said he was convinced there would be a lot of excellent wine made, probably much like 2006. Jesse Lange of Lange Estate Winery expected magnificently intriguing wines and superb overall quality, with some botrytis pressure noted in the valley but little of it making it past sorting. The common thread across those readings is sugar arriving ahead of flavor and growers using hang time to close the gap.

• Ted Farthing of the Oregon Wine Board called 2009 another classic vintage, by a whisker
• Chehalem expected flashy, spectacular Pinot Noir from good phenolic heat plus cool final ripening that retained acidity
• Bethel Heights called it a rare combination of excellent quality and quantity, comparing it to 2006
• Lange Estate expected superb overall quality, with botrytis pressure largely removed at sorting

Chain Bridge Cellars, revisiting Willamette Valley vintages in 2018, placed 2009 directly against 2008: it was warmer, and the wines were fleshier, full of riper flavors, and came in with a bit more alcohol. The retailer reported a tepid 90-point assessment from Wine Spectator, citing supple structures and bold flavors, and 86 points from Wine Advocate, while arguing that for a great tasting bottle to share with people who are not Pinot fanatics, 2009 punches your ticket quite well. That is one retailer's read rather than a consensus, and no formal drinking window for the vintage appears in the sources consulted.

• Chain Bridge Cellars found 2009 warmer than 2008, with fleshier, riper wines carrying a bit more alcohol
• The retrospective reported 90 points from Wine Spectator and 86 points from Wine Advocate
• The same read framed 2009 as a crowd-pleasing vintage rather than a connoisseur's one
• No formal drinking window for the vintage appears in the sources consulted