ABOUT THE 2021 “CLOS ROGUE VALLEY” RESERVE “FUTURES” WINE

Twenty one is something.

It has been my lucky number ever since I was in college and I proudly wore the number on the back of my field hockey and lacrosse jerseys for my alma matter, Sweet Briar College in Virginia. I chose the number 21 because it was my uncle’s basketball number – and he was a celebrated basketball legend in the Lehigh Valley in the 1950s, named to several Pennsylvania Hall of Fames. But there’s more to the number twenty-one than sports and luck that has cemented it as my personal favorite number – weird things, little known facts, mysterious math, and plain magic.

21 is a triangle number – it is the sum of the first six whole numbers (1+2+3+4+5+6=21).

There are 21 spots on a standard, six-sided die.

Twenty-one is the atomic number of scandium (discovered in 1879 by spectral analysis of the minerals euxenite and gadolinite from Scandinavia, birthplace of my ancestors). 

A shape with 21 sides is called a icosikaihenagon.

21 is the eighth number in the Fibonacci sequence, where each number is the sum of the two preceding ones.

The summer and winter solstices typically take place on June 21 and December 21, respectively.

In numerology, the number 21 is associated with creativity, independence, and personal growth.

An American doctor in the early 1902 conducted an experiment to determine if a human soul had a physical weight; by measuring the change in mass between a few moments before death, and the time of death, he came to the conclusion a soul weighs 21 grams.

Estimated age in seconds of the universe, assuming 13.7 billion years since the Big Bang, is 1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000, or, wait for it… 1 × 10²¹.

The Twenty-first Amendment repealed the Eighteenth Amendment, thereby ending Prohibition.

Oh, there’s so much more to where twenty-one lands with significance, cultural relevance, and intrigue. You can go down a rabbit hole twenty-one times and then some to learn about the many, many references 21 makes in our world.

When year 2021 came along, I wanted to believe good things were in store because, let’s face it, 2020 was something else. Twenty-one had always brought me many blessings, serendipity and windfall. So what would 2021 have in store for us?

2021 turned into a whirlwind of a vintage for many reasons.

The ongoing and serious drought in Southern Oregon was wreaking havoc in my production plans. As we were closing in on the harvest season, it was becoming evident that all long-term planning was now threatened by climate change. I had to scramble to find last-minute, exceptional sources of my signature grape. In the end, it all worked out, but not without the worry and stress beyond the typical, taut intensity of harvest. While the yields available to me were quite low, the quality of grapes that I got to vinify gave me the providence I had hoped for. I always say Cabernet Franc is an easy grape to work with, but that’s when the growing season is able to unfold without the challenges of drought, excessive heat or wildfires. It’s a grape that is relatively resilient in smoky seasons, especially when smoke exposure hits prior to or following veraison. I have been very lucky when it comes to the on-going threats of wildfires and smoke taint. Drought it a different animal. With water restrictions implemented in various sub-regions of Southern Oregon, that meant some fields would not get any irrigation, thus, vines would be forced to shut down. Shutting down vine production is a huge loss. So, I was very grateful for what I could get from my contracted blocks.

Twenty-one surfaced again when I called my pick for my one-time purchase of old vine Cabernet Franc from Kiona Vineyard in Red Mountain, my only Washington sourced wine. Very hot conditions pushed along the development of fruit character and flavors, even at lower sugars. I made a bold decision to pick my block early – not customary for this site when most winemakers harvest this fruit at 25 degrees brix or even higher, making wines with more alcohol and weight. I make a totally different style of Cabernet Franc, and to ensure the elegance I’m after, capturing tart fruit and balance, I decided to pick my block at 21 brix. That’s the target for when I pick my Cabernet Franc when making my blanc or rosé  versions. Washington state is very different than Southern Oregon. The heat is different and its impact on Cabernet Franc is different. The flavors from the Washington fruit at 21 brix were developed to where the flavors are typically developed from my Southern Oregon fruit at 23.5 – 24 brix.

As for the Southern Oregon sites I typically work with, the coveted Crater View Ranch fruit was the only Rogue Valley Cabernet Franc that was salvaged and secured in spite of serious drought in the surrounding area, and my blocks received minimal or deficit irrigation. Cool evening temperatures provided the necessary conditions for balancing the fruit, maintaining its naturally high acidity. The fruit flavors were really concentrated and the high acidity held the juice together structurally. This was not going to be a big wine by any stretch, much more lithe and nuanced. Early on in the winemaking process, it reminded me of the Shea Vineyard Pinot Noirs from the West Hill Pommard and Dijon clones. I worked in the cellar at Shea Wine Cellars in 2010 and 2011, and got to spend time walking the blocks, sampling fruit, tasting the juice alongside the winemaker as he made his evaluations for picking decisions. The Crater View Cabernet Franc of 2021 showed the floral aromas – roses, violets – and a dark red fruit character with spice that was unique to the West Hill of Shea Vineyard.

To avoid extended heat, over ripening, higher alcohols and bigger weight, I picked earlier than usual to preserve the stunning floral aromas, fruit character and spice. This made for an unusual reserve wine, unlike previous vintages.

My Treasure Trove wine club subscribers got a preview of the 2021 “Clos Rogue Valley” Reserve Cabernet Franc with their Holiday 2023 shipment.

It is very tart, light and lithe – much more like a Pinot Noir this vintage than a traditional Oregon Cabernet Franc.  That is due to vine stress, drought, and my pick decisions – so we have even higher acidity with 2021.  It tastes much more like pomegranate, cranberries and sour pie cherries than any other vintage.  This is not unusual for Cabernet Franc, in general. There are many global examples of Cabernet Franc that show bright red fruits over vegetal expressions. The Italian Cabernet Francs are perfect examples of this style.

If you take the glass under light and look at it at an angle, you’ll see the wine is bright magenta-red (like pomegranate or cranberry juice) and translucent, clear – you can see right through it!  This indicates how bright and fresh the wine is.

This is, in many ways, a departure from my previous Cabernet Franc reserve wines, but also keep in mind that it hasn’t been bottle aged for very long.  Our current “Clos Rogue Valley” is the 2017 vintage.  Soon we will be moving on to the 2018.  That’s a lot of intentional bottle aging!

I let club members know this was a very early preview.  These wines evolve with time in the barrel and then extended bottle aging.  This wine will be very different at the time of its release in a few years.  The acidity will soften and there will be more richness.  I expect there will be an evolution of amarena cherry, cherry tobacco, and even an element of kirschwasser (cherry brandy) as it continue to bottle age.

It’s exciting to see these wines unfold with time.  Releasing it early to club allows for a full experience of the wine from its young life to maturity.

Right now it is a young, bright, highly acidic, tart fruit-driven wine. It might surprise my veteran Cabernet Franc patrons. Dare I say it – this wine is a Pinot lover’s Cabernet Franc. I did not set out to mimic Pinot Noir. I set out to allow the fruit do what it needed to do in unusual conditions. That’s why I think it’s interesting to make wines that are vintage and site driven. My wines are never the same from year to year. I hope that’s what keeps fans of my Cabernet Francs excited and wanting more!