GROWING SEASON NOTES
2024 The 2024 growing season yielded beautifully concentrated, high- quality fruit, and despite a few challenges, will be remembered for its favorable weather patterns and pristine clusters. Abundant winter rainfall replenished soil moisture and set a strong foundation for the vines. A cool, wet start to the year transitioned into warmer-than-normal temperatures from late March through mid-April, prompting an earlier bud break than in 2023. Bloom unfolded quickly and compactly, and June’s temperate, dry conditions supported an excellent fruit set. While the early season offered promise, vigilance remained essential. A significant heat wave in the first week of July caused minor damage to exposed clusters, reducing shoot tip activity and slowing berry development. August ushered in cooler weather, which provided ideal conditions during the final phase of ripening by enhancing phenolic concentration across the vineyards. Harvest began on August 23 and progressed at an even, unhurried pace until a late-season heat spell from September 30 through October 7 brought the season to a dramatic close. Overall, 2024 was marked by a dynamic interplay of warm and cool conditions; an ebb and flow that ultimately delivered fruit of notable concentration, balance, and aromatic lift. The resulting wines show exceptional equilibrium, expressiveness, and character.
2023 If one were obliged to condense the ’23 growing season to a one- word descriptor, that word would be ‘water.’ After several years of persistent drought, our vineyard team radically modified farming practices to handle the vigorous growth stimulated by abundant winter rains. Indeed, years like 2023 remind us why it is important to stay nimble and adaptable. By so doing, despite nature’s overabundant gift of rainfall, our team’s flexibility and skill aided in garnering a standout vintage. A series of ‘atmospheric rivers’—long narrow bands of water vapor in the atmosphere that move concentrated amounts of moisture from the tropics to the poles—in January and March refilled rivers, lakes, and reservoirs to capacity and replenished aquifers while saturating soils. Wet and cool conditions through early April delayed bud break by several weeks, and lower than average temperatures coupled with additional rainfall in May further delayed phenological development. Despite these less-than-ideal conditions, fruit set was remarkably strong for all our varietals. July brought warmer weather and by late month ‘veraison’ started in earnest. However, plummeting temperatures in August ushered an atypically thick and persistent marine layer onshore, wetting canopies and causing a significant increase in berry size and weight. To counteract this phenomenon, and to secure good
phenolic concentration in the fruit, we performed additional crop thinning across all vineyards. Harvest began September 20—the latest start in over a decade for Paul Hobbs Winery—was well-paced throughout, and concluded in early November. In summary, 2023 is notable for its long, slow physiological development cycle, providing the winery with beautifully balanced, nuanced fruit, rendering bright, energetic wines of good structure, length, and elegance. 2022 The ’22 growing season presented a few challenges—especially down the home stretch—reminding us that adversity often breeds surprising insights and learnings that an otherwise relatively benign path cannot. The ’22 vintage showcases the resilience of diligently farmed vineyards. Therein lies the silver lining. Winter and early spring brought little rain and mild temperatures across Napa and Sonoma Counties leading to an early bud break, and a strong, well-defined bloom. During the first week of June, a surprise deluge caused moderate berry shatter (i.e., coulure (fr.) a failure of grapes to develop after flowering) in certain vineyards. That, combined with dry soils, kept yields low
and berries small, a promising setup for concentrated color and flavors. A temperate summer helped produce uniform ripening and our reliably cool nights, with diurnal dips into the 50s, kept acidity levels high and bright. Harvest commenced on August 22—our earliest harvest on record—followed swiftly by a final heat spell in early September with temperatures peaking at 117°F at some locations. Early harvests tend to be compressed, and the heat accelerated its pace. Despite the travails, however, the wines are deeply flavored, layered, and complex, with superb balance and energy.
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