RIPENESS

The Pinot Noir bunches are ripening quickly--look back in the blog at earlier posts to see just how rapid the colour change and berry fulness has occurred--and I expect that we will harvest them within ten days.
It's been a marvellous ripening period for the early varieties such as Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Sauvignon Blanc. Acids remain high, thanks to the cool nights, and the rather mild conditions during the day have helped retain fruit flavour. Contrary to what might be called received wisdom, I like to see the grapes ripen quickly. The common view that long growing seasons give the best flavours is widespread--you'll see this opinion on back labels, on websites, in the media, in wine books and you will hear it in conversations with experts and opinion leaders. Well, I don't buy it. Given the choice, I'll take rapid veraison and ripening.
Often, grapes that take a long time to ripen lose natural acidity which must then be added at the winery. What's more, this long ripening can mean that the vines are over-cropped and struggling to ripen the crop load.
That's why I like the fast and even ripening we get at Squitchy Lane. It tells me the crop is in balance and that we will not be forced to add acid at the crusher. It also tells me that we have the right site for the grapes. There's a hard-to-define freshness that comes with all this--you can taste it in the Pinot Noir and the Cabernet especially although the Chardonnay also has it.
More on Chardonnay in the next post.