Tom Scott Vineyard Newsletter - Harvest 2013 - Barn Burner Cabernet Sauvignon
Dear Friends,
Now that the crazy days of October are behind us, we can take a moment and reflect about this year's vintage. Our harvest was earlier than anticipated this year; a beautiful crop was brought in October 15th with the help of a wonderful crew of trained professionals and gifted amateurs!
 The 2013 vintage has been all about the weather. We've heard it said that this was a season of "quantity and quality" and we have to agree. While our bud break was not ahead of schedule this year, due to our late pruning and the nature of Bordeaux varietals, the warm dry spring did help with canopy vigor and berry size. Flowering and fruit set occurred under sunny skies; there was no frost or rain to diminish the crop and with the exception of one heat spike in late June, early July the temperatures were consistently optimal for vine activity as the fruit went through veraison and started the process of ripening.
What was unusual this growing season was first the total lack of rain, and second the sudden onset of ripeness. In the period from January through July 2013 we had no rain, making it the driest on record for the Valley for the last 119 years! From June to November, we've had 1.08 inches at our vineyard. That makes a total of 1.08 inches for the entire calendar year. Most of our rain falls December through March, so this year we lost at least three critical months of rainfall. Since our vineyard was planted in 2000, this is the first time we've had no rainfall in October, and there is none yet projected for November.
We were lucky that our wells held up during the summer months, allowing us to irrigate the vines when we felt they were too stressed. We were also lucky that the temperatures this summer were moderate, giving us a long and sunny growing season without extended heat. Not a lot of heat, but plenty of sun. Perfect.
 We were carefully checking our fruit starting late September, looking for signs of ripeness, and we felt that what we were seeing was pretty consistent with prior years. We thought we were looking at a late October harvest date - then in a matter of two or three days everything changed! Suddenly the fruit looked and tasted ripe, all the markers were there, soft skins and dark seeds. And just as suddenly we observed the fruit and plants starting to look too stressed, the plants had begun to slow their uptake of water - an indication they were starting to shut down. We had to get the fruit in! So with very short notice, the harvest was set and within 6 hours on October 15th, our crop was picked and delivered safely into the hands of our winemaker, Bill Ballentine.
A very uneventful growing season with a dramatic finish!
 This year, our main field produced 6.75 tons of fruit. In 2012 we had a record crop (as did everyone) of 7.80 tons, so while we are down from 2012, we are still ahead of our annual average of 6.51 tons. We had another big growing year, but more importantly, another stellar crop. The early dry conditions yielded smaller berries, and smaller berries mean a higher ratio of skins to juice, leading to higher levels of color and tannins, giving our 2013 vintage significant structure. We're seeing intensity, complexity and freshness. Quantity and quality! We'll raise a glass in 2016 and see what the fruit of our labors and this year's unusual, dry moderate weather has given us.
• We have been thrilled with the success of our large formats! You all clearly love those beautiful etched and hand-painted bottles. We wanted to let you know we have only five 2010 Magnums and only three 2010 Three-Liter bottles remaining. All other vintages and sizes are sold out, and when these are gone, we will be sold out until the release of our 2011 vintage. So, with the holidays ahead, you might want to add one of these last remaining bottles to your cellar, to share or to gift. As always, we're selling them on a first-come first-sold bases, so email or call us if you'd like one.
• We're always asked if there is ever a time that we slow down in our vineyard work and the answer is yes, and that time is now. While we still have to "winterize" our irrigation system, most of our fieldwork is done until February. We look forward to an easier pace for a while, time to share with family and friends, and time to address all those little projects that have been accumulating over a busy year. We wish all of you the same, time ... remember even the vines need to rest.
Warmest regards,
Tom and Lauren Scott
www.tomscottvineyard.com
www.tomscottvineyard.com/wineshop
info@tomscottvineyard.com
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