2023 Napa Valley Vintage

After several years of severe drought, 2023 opened with water. Winter and spring rains filled reservoirs and saturated soils, setting ideal conditions heading into bud break. Stu Smith of Smith-Madrone put the winter's total at 70 inches and called it a gift from heaven, crediting it with complete groundwater replenishment. Paul Hobbs made the same point from the reservoir side, saying the rain refilled most reservoirs and lakes to full capacity and helped resupply aquifers. Then the cold set the pace. Hobbs recorded growing degree days running 200 to 300 down by late June, making it one of the coolest growing seasons since Paul Hobbs Winery began keeping records. Maya Dalla Valle of Dalla Valle Vineyards logged 1,977 GDD as of mid-August, against 2,294 at the same point in 2021 and 2,204 in 2018, calling it the coolest year her team had seen in quite a few vintages. Because rain had already replenished soil moisture, Dalla Valle's team needed very little to no irrigation early on, and that water combined with cool weather to slow growth and build canopy vigor. Stu Smith credited the cold, wet winter followed by a persistent June gloom for the delay, predicting in mid-August that harvest would run about three weeks behind average. The lag was visible in the fruit: by mid-August, veraison had not yet begun on Dalla Valle's Cabernet Franc, while at the same date in 2022 it had already finished. Mild, warm summer weather in the low to mid 70s supported healthy canopy growth through bloom and set, with clusters staying loose enough for good airflow despite mildew pressure in the vineyards. Some cool-weather shatter occurred during flowering. What 2023 did not have was drama. Bill Dyer on Diamond Mountain summed up the season by noting that harvesting decisions were made without the drama of heat spikes or smoke effects from wildfires. Harvest opened around Labor Day weekend, September 2 to 4, with white grapes, and Cabernet Sauvignon started at the end of September and into early October.

• Winter and spring rains filled reservoirs and saturated soils after years of severe drought; Stu Smith recorded 70 inches
• Paul Hobbs logged growing degree days down 200 to 300 by late June, among the coolest seasons in his winery's records
• Maya Dalla Valle recorded 1,977 GDD by mid-August against 2,294 in 2021 and 2,204 in 2018
• A cold, wet winter and persistent June gloom pushed the calendar about three weeks behind average
• Mildew pressure was present, but loose clusters and good airflow mitigated it; some cool-weather shatter occurred at flowering
• Harvesting decisions were made without heat spikes or wildfire smoke, per Bill Dyer on Diamond Mountain
• White-grape harvest opened around Labor Day weekend, September 2 to 4, with Cabernet Sauvignon starting at the end of September

2023 ended later than anyone had picked in years. Decanter's mid-August forecast had estimated Napa would run about three weeks behind the prior year and could extend into October or even November, and that is exactly what happened, with all picks wrapping by mid-November. The Napa Valley Register's final harvest report of the season, filed in early November, catches individual wineries finishing across a late spread: Cliff Lede Vineyards on October 20, Tom Rinaldi of Patent Wines the day before Halloween, Chimney Rock Winery planning to end on Halloween itself, and Clos du Val rescheduling its last Stags Leap District Cabernet pick to November 1 with rain in the forecast. Fruit hanging that late ran into a different hazard. Overnight temperatures fell below freezing at many Napa sites near the very end of harvest, and vineyard managers ran frost fans to protect the remaining crop at higher-elevation Howell Mountain sites, including Clif Family's Cold Springs Vineyard. Rinaldi, completing his 48th Napa Valley harvest with the 2023 vintage, called it late and great.

• Decanter's mid-August forecast of a three-week delay extending into October or November proved accurate
• All picks wrapped by mid-November, with individual wineries finishing between roughly October 20 and November 1
• Rain in the forecast around November 1 prompted Clos du Val to reschedule its last Stags Leap District Cabernet pick
• Overnight temperatures fell below freezing at many sites near the end of harvest, and frost fans ran at higher-elevation Howell Mountain vineyards
• Tom Rinaldi of Patent Wines completed his 48th Napa harvest and called 2023 late and great

The long season delivered volume as well as time. 2023 produced above-average crop yields with extended hang time, and Louis Kapcsandy Jr. of Kapcsandy Family Winery in Yountville reported yields 30 to 40 percent above 2022, a surprise few growers had expected that left the valley short of new oak barrels. Not everywhere shared in it. Higher-elevation growers in the Spring Mountain District reported a below-average crop for both Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc, with smaller-than-normal berries and shatter cutting tonnage there even as quality stayed high, per Stuart Smith of Smith-Madrone. Decanter's mid-August forecast had flagged exactly this risk, that overall crop load looked good but could run lower at some sites after years of severe drought. On the fruit itself, multiple winemakers reported natural acidity higher than normal, which Bill Dyer of Dyer Vineyards read as a sign of long aging potential. Napa Valley Vintners and multiple press quotes call 2023 the vintage of a lifetime, and growers independently floated it as a possible collectors' vintage.

• Above-average crop yields with extended hang time across the valley
• Kapcsandy Family Winery reported yields 30 to 40 percent above 2022, creating a shortage of new oak barrels
• Spring Mountain District growers at higher elevation reported a below-average crop with smaller berries and shatter, though quality stayed high
• Multiple winemakers reported higher than normal natural acidity, which Bill Dyer read as long aging potential
• Napa Valley Vintners and press coverage call 2023 the vintage of a lifetime, with growers floating it as a possible collectors' vintage