2013 will go down as one of the earliest and most memorable harvests in the history of the estate. The vines responded to the drought-like winter conditions and mild spring with a precocious bud-break. Early May saw bloom begin first in Will’s Cabin Vineyard, a full month earlier than normal. We experienced a particularly windy May that was punctuated by a low-pressure system that rolled through the last week of the month, dropping almost a quarter inch of rain. This severely lowered yields in some of our later-flowering, and best, vineyards: Rapley Trail, Albutom, and Portola Springs. Yields were lower across the board, likely due to the dearth of winter rainfall in the last two seasons. The majority of our vineyards were dry-farmed this year, which resulted in thicker skins, more tannin, and great flavors at the cost of less fruit. Such is the trade-off between quality and quantity in viticulture. Harvest began with the early-ripening Swan clone of Pinot Noir in Will’s Cabin on August 17th, and strangely finished with Gewürztraminer on October 4th.

Portola Springs Vineyard was planted in 1982 on an eastern facing slope of 2.5-acres at 1920 feet in elevation. This vineyard ripens slower than others due to the colder climate and is usually one of the last harvested blocks. This lower sugar content results in a bright, citrusy Chardonnay. The soil consists of Lambert Shale streaked with basalt which results in mineral notes and an overall elegant, linear chardonnay.