October 23, 2024
One of the sweetest bits about pressing off the last tanks of Cabernet for the year is that we finally get to close the door on the harvest and reflect on all the factors that built the vintage. In short, we had an excellent 2024. Superlatives are never in short supply when you get a Napa winemaker talking about the vintage they just completed, but I’m going stick with the highest praise I can give a year in this era of heat, drought, fires and general craziness—2024 was a “normal” year. Warm days, cool nights, and the general lack of unwelcome surprises gave a sense of smoothness to the rhythm of the year, starting all the way back in the spring when the vines began to grow and continuing right up to the last days of harvest.
Ample rainfall over the 2023-24 winter rainy season gifted the vines a full tank of gas as budbreak began in the first and second weeks of April—somewhat later than usual, but warm, sunny weather in April and May moved things along quickly, and by midsummer we were on track for an on-time start to harvest. Perfect bloom weather in May combined with zero frost and light disease pressure to give us a beautiful set of fruit that was neither too heavy nor too light. A heat wave in early July tightened up the yields a tiny bit, but thanks to the ample rainfall and healthy vine canopies, the fruit wasn’t impacted in a significant way.
We began harvest with Sauvignon Blanc from Rossi on August 14th, and we were quickly given reason for optimism about the year. Acidity and pH levels—indications of the vibrancy and freshness of the fruit—were very strong, and sugar content moved slowly but steadily, allowing us time to call picks at our own discretion (as opposed to having our hand forced by adverse conditions). Since 2018, we have been steadily redeveloping many acres of Sauvignon Blanc at our Galleron estate ranch, and 2024 marked a banner year for many of the young vines, whose development had been slowed by the drought years of 2020-2022. We are back on track with SB, and the growth of our Concrete Aged SB program makes this an exciting place to be.
A crucial part of harvest is the transition between picking Sauvignon Blanc and picking Zinfandel, whose ripening window is extremely narrow. This year, smooth sailing with SB, combined with a very welcome week of cool weather just as the Zin got ripe enabled us to jump on top of the Zinfandel harvest and prevent sugars from getting out of control. The 2024 Zins already have a vibrancy that rivals the 2023 vintage, with slightly lower alcohol levels to boot—I can’t wait to see these wines develop. Simultaneous with Zinfandel was the Chardonnay harvest. While the 2023 Chard harvest was spread out over a whole month, the 2024 edition took just 12 days from start to finish, again with great flavors and freshness.
There were two main differences between 2023 and 2024 for the Merlot and Cabernet harvests. First, crop level—whereas the 2024 crop was moderately below average in size, the 2023 yields were quite large, especially compared to the drought years that we had just exited. This factor combined with very cool, almost cold weather in 2023 to extend the harvest very late into the fall, while 2024 featured much more of the “normal” combo of warm days and cool nights. Consequently, we wrapped up 2024 almost a month earlier in 2024 than in 2023 (November 2nd vs. October 8th).
Referencing the “early” (actually, normal) end to harvest, some will point to a heat wave that rolled through the valley in early October, and I’ve heard some early comparisons to the 2022 harvest heat wave. However, I think that’s a bit of a red herring—the heat wave in 2024 occurred almost a month later into harvest than in 2022, after our sensitive blocks at Rossi and Leeds had already been picked, and when what was left to pick was already either ready or almost ready. Much larger canopies than in 2022 helped give better protection to the fruit, and we were able to ride out the wave without having to use any of our heat suppression systems. In the end, the heat seemed to “pop” some blocks that needed a little push, and the remaining fruit came in problem-free.
All of the Flycatcher lots came in on time, and we were able to take advantage of market conditions to bring on some new sources of fruit from some fabulous vineyards: ancient-vine Mourvedre and Carignane from the Del Barba and Evangelho vineyards, high elevation Grenache and Mourvedre from Goldbud farms in the Sierra Foothills, and a tiny bit of exquisite Tempranillo from a small ranch in El Dorado. The 2023 Flycatcher is tasting amazing, and the future could not be brighter for this wine.
Fermentations have been incredibly smooth, and the lower yields in Cabernet and Merlot put less of a premium on tank space in the winery. This means we’ve been able to leave lots on their skins for longer than ever before (one lot of Chavez-Leeds Cabernet was in tank for almost a month), and we’re loving the early returns. Blending trials for Cab and Merlot will begin in February.
Looking forward, we will be redeveloping one of our Merlot blocks at the winery due to issues with red blotch virus, which has degraded its consistency over the last few years. Don’t worry—we’ll be replanting the field back into Merlot in 2026, after a full year of fallowing to recharge the soil. We’re on the hunt for some organic Merlot from Rutherford to help fill the gap while the block gets back up to speed.
In conclusion, we had a great year, and I’m really excited to keep tabs on the 2024s as they chart their course through the cellar.
Rory Williams, Vineyardist & Winemaker