2010 Vintage Overview

2010 Bordeaux-Styled Wines

Coming off the richly textured, concentrated wines of warm 2009, we all wondered what the cooler vintage of 2010 would provide.  The sensory key is in the heat pattern of the vintage: the cool spring and summer gave way to a splendid autumn ripening for the 2010s.  To punctuate this I need to repeat what I wrote last September: the data show that October 1, 2010, was warmer than September 1, August 1, July 1 or June 1 of the same year!  This stellar finish to the season gave us terrific fruit.

We’ve seen the satisfying results of such vintages, where Mother Nature was more affable: smaller berry size, medium skin density, full phenolic/flavor maturity and lower potential alcohol levels.  The wines show a sensuous balance and harmony, with striking character and expression.

2010 Rhone-Inspired Wines

 The joke in the Columbia Valley by June 2010, another cool spring having just delayed the vintage, was “So tell me about global warming.” And that tease lingered throughout much of the summer as temperatures throughout all west coast vineyard areas lazed below average. Few sites registered the occasional 100° F reading that is typical, and though we had a few warm stretches, there weren’t as many and they didn’t last as long as average.
 
After 35+ vintages here I’ve come to count on the Columbia Valley as the hero of our story; and it didn’t disappoint in 2010. A late, yet robust Indian Summer came along in mid-late September through mid October and removed any doubts I might have had. The data shows that October 1, 2010, was warmer than September, August, July or June 1st of the same year. That late prolonged, dry, warm stretch gave us the fruit we were looking for.