2012 Napa Valley Vintage

Spring brought near-ideal bud break, steady flowering and even fruit set, and the Napa Valley Vintners called those conditions textbook. Summer followed with a lengthy stretch of warm days and cool, often foggy nights. Cornerstone Cellars' Craig Camp described warm sunny day after warm sunny day, with highs rarely reaching 100 degrees F and rarely falling below 85, and nights dropping to the low 50s. Temperatures spiked into the 90s over the last weekend of September, pushing Cabernet Sauvignon toward perfect ripeness. Late and light rains held off until the grapes reached optimal ripeness.

• Near-ideal spring bud break, steady flowering and even fruit set
• A lengthy summer stretch of warm days and cool, often foggy nights
• Highs rarely reached 100 degrees F and rarely fell below 85, with nights in the low 50s
• Temperatures in the 90s over the last weekend of September pushed Cabernet Sauvignon toward perfect ripeness
• Late and light rains held off until the grapes reached optimal ripeness

At Cornerstone Cellars, Stepping Stone Pinot Gris was picked on September 11 and Sauvignon Blanc on September 13, from Talcott Vineyard in St. Helena and a new Ink Grade vineyard on Howell Mountain. Cornerstone's red harvest began with Merlot from Oakville Station and To Kalon and from Ink Grade on Howell Mountain. The scheduled picks that followed were Oakville Station and To Kalon Cabernet Franc and Block 2 Merlot on October 1, Ink Grade Cabernet Sauvignon from lower block 5 on October 3, Ink Grade Howell Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon and Stewart Ranch Carneros Merlot on October 4, and Losey Vineyard Riesling and Atlas Peak Syrah on October 5.

• Cornerstone Cellars picked Stepping Stone Pinot Gris on September 11 and Sauvignon Blanc on September 13
• The red harvest began with Merlot from Oakville Station and To Kalon and from Ink Grade on Howell Mountain
• Cabernet Franc and Block 2 Merlot from Oakville Station and To Kalon were scheduled for October 1
• Ink Grade Cabernet Sauvignon was scheduled for October 3 and 4, alongside Stewart Ranch Carneros Merlot on October 4
• Losey Vineyard Riesling and Atlas Peak Syrah were scheduled for October 5

Napa Valley vineyards are intentionally farmed at lower yields, averaging about 4 tons per acre at crush, consistently half the California statewide average. Against that baseline, the 2012 crop was as much as 30 percent larger than the smaller crops of the previous two years and on par with near-normal quantity.

• Napa farms at about 4 tons per acre at crush, half the California statewide average, by design
• The 2012 crop was as much as 30 percent larger than the smaller 2010 and 2011 crops
• Overall volume was on par with near-normal quantity for Napa

Chris Howell, winemaker and general manager at Cain Vineyard and Winery, said that in his memory the depth of color, the beautiful aromatics and the satisfyingly complete palate were unmatched, and that the 2012 harvest will certainly be remembered as one of the very best ever for Napa Valley. Cathy Corison of Corison Winery said 2012 reminded her of 2005, one of her two favorite vintages of the decade, for its very smooth, even ripening season. Janet Myers, winemaker at Franciscan Estate, described Sauvignon Blanc with bright lime and grapefruit flavors, Chardonnay in malolactic fermentation with ripe Fuji apple and Bartlett pear character, and Bordeaux-style varietals with deep color and dark cherry and cassis flavors.

• Chris Howell of Cain said the depth of color, aromatics and palate were unmatched in his memory
• Cathy Corison compared 2012 to 2005 for its very smooth, even ripening season
• Franciscan Estate's Janet Myers described bright lime and grapefruit in the Sauvignon Blanc and deep color with dark cherry and cassis in the Bordeaux-style varietals