2014 Willamette Valley / Oregon Vintage

The season carried one piece of damage into it from the year before. The Oregon Wine Board's 2014 harvest report notes a December 2013 freeze that impacted some Oregon regions and sites, causing bud and vine damage. From there the weather cooperated. Spring was mostly dry and warmer than normal, giving a favorable environment for flowering and fruit set. The report describes vine fruitfulness and set as extraordinary, producing large clusters and a very large potential crop. One Willamette Valley producer quoted in the report thinned more moderately than usual, worried that aggressive crop removal would concentrate sugars too quickly in the warm conditions. Bud break through harvest ran an average of two weeks early statewide, and some sites and varieties matured as much as three weeks early. Those large clusters then ripened evenly across a warm, dry summer. 2014 broke Oregon's previous record for growing season heat accumulation, set in 2006, and the Oregon Wine Board is specific about the mechanism: the record came from warmer-than-normal overnight lows for most of the year rather than higher daytime highs, which let ripening continue through veraison without heat-stressing the vines. The Willamette Valley Wineries Association put the season at more than 2,800 degree days, with 29 days above 90 degrees Fahrenheit, almost double the recent-years count, on top of those warm nights. Site readings ran lower: Amalie Robert Estate in the Eola-Amity Hills logged 2,499 heat units through mid-October. Harvest began around September 12, roughly two weeks earlier than normal statewide, with some warmer sites starting in the first week of September. Conditions stayed mostly dry through September, with some rain at the end of the month that was treated as a minor nuisance rather than a problem and that helped lower pH and slow rapidly rising sugars. Amalie Robert recorded 2.84 inches of rain from mid-September through harvest for a growing season total of 9.63 inches, and picked its Syrah block on October 19 as the window was closing. Statewide, though, nearly all fruit was in by October 1, one of the earliest vintages on record for Oregon Pinot Noir, and the warm summer had ripened nearly everything before any significant rain arrived. Most wineries reported higher-than-normal yields off those larger clusters, and a Willamette Valley grower quoted in the report expected a new record for tons harvested statewide. The consequence was a tank-space shortage reported right across the industry.

• A December 2013 freeze caused bud and vine damage at some Oregon regions and sites before the season began
• Mostly dry, warmer-than-normal spring gave extraordinary fruitfulness and set, with large clusters and a very large potential crop
• Bud break through harvest ran two weeks early on average statewide, some sites and varieties as much as three weeks early
• The season broke the 2006 heat accumulation record through warmer overnight lows rather than higher daytime highs, with the Willamette Valley Wineries Association recording over 2,800 degree days and 29 days above 90 degrees
• Harvest began around September 12 and nearly all fruit was in by October 1, with only a minor end-of-September rain that helped lower pH and slow sugars
• Yields ran higher than normal off larger clusters, pointing to a record statewide tonnage and causing an industry-wide shortage of tank space

Joe Dobbes of Dobbes Family Estate called 2014 one of those rare vintages when you have high quality and high quantity at the same time, with wines running from refreshing and vibrant to rich and ripe, Pinot Noirs deeper in color and alcohols in the low 13s to lower 14s. He compared its likely consumer appeal to 2009. Lynn Penner-Ash of Penner-Ash Wine Cellars described the wines as darkly fruited and concentrated, some with big tannins balanced by a sweet fruit core and moderate alcohol, and tied the early harvest to a slightly early bud break plus the warm, dry spring and summer. The Willamette Valley Wineries Association assessed quality as excellent on the basis of full ripeness and what it called probably the cleanest fruit seen in decades, noting that restrained extraction in fermentation compensated for the season's warmth and that good cropload balance and harvest timing kept alcohols reasonable, averaging just under 14 percent. The association described the whites as lush and gorgeously fruited, and the Pinot Noir colors as rich but not overly deep, and not overly tannic or extracted. Amalie Robert Estate called 2014 a top contender for vintage of our lifetime at its Eola-Amity Hills estate, singling out Syrah as the standout variety of the year.

• Joe Dobbes of Dobbes Family Estate reported alcohols in the low 13s to lower 14s and called it a rare pairing of high quality and high quantity
• Lynn Penner-Ash described darkly fruited, concentrated wines, some with big tannins balanced by a sweet fruit core
• The Willamette Valley Wineries Association credited restrained extraction for offsetting the season's warmth, with alcohols averaging just under 14 percent
• Whites were described as lush and gorgeously fruited; Pinot Noir colors rich but not overly deep, and not overly tannic
• Amalie Robert Estate called it a top contender for vintage of our lifetime at its site, with Syrah the standout

Wine Spectator's Oregon Pinot Noir vintage chart scores 2014 at 96, with the note that a very large crop was able to attain balance in a hot vintage, and lists the drink window status as Drink rather than past peak.

• Wine Spectator Oregon Pinot Noir vintage chart: 96 points for 2014
• Chart description: a very large crop was able to attain balance in a hot vintage
• Chart drink window status: Drink