Overall, 2024 was a very warm growing season that resulted in excellent ripeness and also, surprisingly, excellent acidity.
Leading up to the growing season, we had lots of rain in January and February, which filled the soil profile nicely. What does this mean? In brief, plants need both air and water. After a rain, as the ground water drains away, it partially percolates downward. After the drainage has stopped, the soil is filled with both air and water. At this stage, the soil is said to be at field capacity, meaning the water and air contents of the soil are considered to be ideal for crop growth.
The weather in the spring, when the vines came out of dormancy, was excellent. The good weather continued through flowering, resulting in a very even fruit set. A good fruit set is the first important step to harvesting a good size crop, something we most certainly don’t have every year on our mountainside vineyard.
July was significantly hotter than normal, causing some vine stress and prompting us to irrigate the vineyard, something we do rarely at best. Fortunately, it cooled down nicely in August, with warm days and cold nights, which is the ideal weather for developing flavor while retaining a good balance of acidity.
September was again hotter than normal, however night time temperatures were consistently cool, averaging in the 50’s. The combination allowed good physiological ripeness to develop of both fruit character and tannin quality even though harvest came earlier than usual. The 2024 growing season started early and it ended early. In 2023 most grapes were picked in October, whereas in 2024 most grapes were harvested in September. In the case of Laurel Glen Vineyard, we picked our first Cabernet grapes on September 12, 2024 and our last on October 1. In 2023, however, we picked our first Cabernet grapes on October 7 and our last on October 26th, 2023.
Due to the cool growing season in 2023, grapes were harvested at a lower Brix level (i.e. sugar in the grapes) and a higher acidity level than in most years. In 2024, the pH stayed low as the sugar levels increased, which allowed us to harvest grapes at a higher Brix level than in 2023, but also with a high acidity level. Very unusual!
We also picked more grapes this year than last and, in fact, more than usual. For Laurel Glen Vineyard, in particular, that is reason to celebrate. Our mountainside vineyard produces on average 2.4 tons of fruit per acre – which is a low yield compared to a valley floor vineyard. In 2023, we harvested our average, 2.4 tons per acre. However, in 2024, we harvested 3 tons per acre. Since 2011, there have been only 2 other years when we harvested that much (2018 and 2021) and only one year (2014) when we harvested more (3.3 tons/acre.)
The ripeness paired with higher than normal acidity has produced wines with both fantastic richness and freshness at the same time. It will be several years before we will be enjoying the Cabernets of 2024. But I have no doubt they will be worth the wait!
Randall Watkins, Winemaker
