2021 Willamette Valley / Oregon Vintage

The 2020-2021 Pacific Northwest winter ran relatively warm, 1.7 degrees F above the 1901-2020 average, with Oregon 1.5 degrees F warmer than normal. Drought carried over: most Pacific Northwest locations saw below-average winter precipitation, though the Willamette Valley itself came in close to average while eastern and southern Oregon saw about half of normal. Jason Lett of The Eyrie Vineyards described the year as opening with an epic ice storm in winter that took out power. The growing season started relatively cool and continued dry. Many Oregon sites saw mild to moderate frosts in early to mid April, an early-season heat event at the start of May, then an abnormally cold stretch beginning the third week of May. Another heat event arrived in early June, followed by a relatively cool and wet period around bloom. That rain at flowering was the year's decisive yield event. Eugenia Keegan of Jackson Family Wines said heavy rain fell 10 days of June, exactly as the Willamette Valley was flowering, and put yields roughly 20 percent down across the portfolio. Lett named the June rains as the main driver at Eyrie and estimated his crop at about 75 percent of normal. Then came the heat. Over three days in late June a heat dome settled over British Columbia and the Pacific Northwest and broke all-time records by 5 to 10 degrees. Salem reached a record 117 degrees F on June 28, and Portland hit an all-time record of 116 degrees F the same day, capping three consecutive days above 100. The vines had already flowered, but berries were still small, hard and green, not yet accumulating sugar or juice. Growers left more leaf canopy in place rather than trimming it back, specifically to shade the fruit. Keegan reported that in terms of dehydration or sunburn, the things that happen with heat, they did not see it. The north Willamette Valley is mostly unirrigated, and climatologist Greg Jones flagged that canopy growth itself could be constrained by heat and drought stress, with younger non-irrigated plantings most at risk. The rest of the summer ran warmer than average until a cooldown moving into October, with more days above 95 degrees F than normal. The Willamette Valley Wineries Association recorded a 92-day dry spell with just 0.02 inches of rain and a five-day stretch averaging 103 degree F highs. Unlike 2020, wildfire smoke reached southern Oregon around July but stayed at atmospheric levels and did not damage the crop. The valley's first significant rain in roughly 95 days arrived in early September, with growers about two-thirds through picking, mostly whites, and most Pinot Noir still around 21 to 22 Brix. Harvest started in early September for most Oregon wineries and, with temperatures easing, ran long and measured. Compris Vineyard in the Dundee Hills area logged Pinot Noir picks September 5 to 7, Tempranillo September 16 and Syrah October 4. Across the state, winemakers reported yields down significantly from average, varying by region and variety, which the Oregon Wine Board attributed to the combination of spring cold events, rain at flowering and fruit set, summer heat events and a very dry season.

• Warm winter, continuing drought, and a growing season that started cool but stayed dry
• April frosts, an early-May heat event and an abnormally cold late May, then a cool, wet bloom in June
• Rain during 10 days of June at flowering cut yields to roughly 20 to 25 percent below normal at major producers
• June 26 to 28 heat dome: Salem 117 degrees F and Portland 116 degrees F on June 28, records broken by 5 to 10 degrees
• Heat landed pre-veraison with berries small, hard and green; extra canopy was left on to shade fruit and damage was limited
• A 92-day dry spell with 0.02 inches of rain, broken by the first significant rain in about 95 days in early September
• Harvest began early September and ran long and measured as temperatures eased

For all the heat, the vineyard read on 2021 was calm. Growers reported generally low disease pressure, relatively low pest pressure, and little to no bird pressure until later in the picking window. Overall fruit quality was described as very good to exceptional across the state. Jason Lett said his vines handled the drought and early season heat with aplomb, remaining green and vibrant throughout. Sam Tannahill of A to Z Wineworks and Rex Hill, buying fruit statewide, reported no disease pressure and balanced acids with high sugars in what he had picked partway through the window. The early September rain played a useful role, arriving while most Pinot Noir was still around 21 to 22 Brix and giving flavors room to catch up before the long, cooler picking stretch that followed. After the short, smoke-disrupted 2020 crop, the industry read 2021 as a return to abundance in quality terms, even though yields were still below a full crop.

• Low disease pressure, low pest pressure and little bird pressure until late in the picking window
• Fruit quality reported as very good to exceptional statewide
• Eyrie's Jason Lett said the vines handled the drought and early heat with aplomb and stayed green and vibrant
• Early September rain arrived with most Pinot Noir at 21 to 22 Brix, ahead of a cooler, extended finish to harvest

Sam Tannahill described the wines as darkly colored, concentrated, fresh and complex, and said the vintage would certainly rank as one of A to Z's top five. The Willamette Valley Wineries Association characterized the wines as reaching full ripeness while retaining very good acidity, and anticipated that the vintage might resemble the concentration of 2018 or the scale of 2014 to 2017 depending on producer choices. Noah Roberts, assistant winemaker at Nicolas Jay, said 2021 is defined by the intensity of the wines, with a through line of acidity, and that the team came to see it as a great Oregon vintage. A Domaine Serene winemaking representative told James Suckling that the 2021 wines are more delicate and elegant than 2022 and more influenced by the coolness of the harvest weeks, despite how warm it was earlier. Suckling's team tasted 268 Pinot Noirs from the vintage and described consistently high quality and mouth-watering balance, citing Rose and Arrow, Nicolas Jay, Domaine Serene and Soter among the standouts, and praising freshness and concentration in the Chardonnays, with Ponzi and Bergstrom among the highest rated. Compris Vineyard summed up its own experience by saying that intense heat and long dry stretches made timing and quick decisions matter, and that in the glass 2021 is confident but not heavy, with depth and lift, structure and brightness.

• A to Z Wineworks called the wines darkly colored, concentrated, fresh and complex, and a likely top-five vintage for the house
• The Willamette Valley Wineries Association noted full ripeness with very good acidity, comparable to 2018 concentration or 2014 to 2017 scale
• James Suckling's team tasted 268 Pinot Noirs and reported consistently high quality and balance
• Domaine Serene characterized the 2021 wines as more delicate and elegant than 2022, shaped by cool harvest weeks

James Suckling framed 2021 as part of a run of Oregon vintages disrupted by natural events: wildfire smoke in 2020, heat spikes in 2021 and spring frost in 2022. What separates 2021 from the year before it is that the disruption did not reach the fruit. The 2020 crop was about 29 percent smaller overall than typical and carried the smoke problem through the cellar; 2021 was a welcome return to a fuller crop after two short years, with clean fruit and no smoke damage, even if yields still came in below a normal full harvest. Growing degree days in the Willamette Valley were the highest of the prior four vintages and tracked close to 2015, one of the warmest vintages to date in the western United States, before falling off in August and again in October.

• Suckling's framing: smoke in 2020, heat spikes in 2021, spring frost in 2022
• The 2020 crop was roughly 29 percent smaller than typical; 2021 restored a fuller, clean crop
• Willamette Valley growing degree days in 2021 were the highest of the prior four vintages
• Heat accumulation tracked close to 2015 for most of the season before tapering in August and October