Visual proof of change

S

SFJoe

Joe Dougherty
Many will recall the discussions of Mike Dashe's L'Enfant Terrible in
another place.

I recently received proof that this foudre thing is not a one-off, but rather a serious trend:

Dashe_Foudres.jpg
Fewer oaky CA wines in our future?
 
originally posted by SFJoe:Fewer oaky CA wines in our future?
Click to expand...

I think that trend has been going on for quite some time now. The period from about '92/'93-'99 was horrible, imo, for the rampant excessive use of oak in many California wines, more specifically, California Cabernets and Chardonnays. However, with the weak '00 vintage, (for Cabernet) smart winemakers realized they had to pull back on the use of oak as there just wasn't enough fruit to support previous oaking regimens. I think it happened to coincide with discussions certainly on wine bulletin boards and within the industry as to whether the use of oak and gotton out of control.

Since that time I've certainly noticed a pullback in the oak in red wines, but even more so in white wines. With reds, both in length of regimen, kind of oak used (more French) and, perhaps most importantly, the char levels seem to have been toned down. With regard to whites, there are a lot of non-oaked Chardonnays out there nowadays. Five to seven years ago, there really weren't that many. Many wineries often oaked their Sauvignon Blancs, too. Not so much the case anymore. Personally, I think it's a good trend.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top