Hardscrabble Journal

The Dust Settles

We are now able get our first glimpse of the 2018 wines. During fermentation the wines are impossible to evaluate, as they are sweet and frothy. Just after the wines finish their fermentation they are overwhelmingly cloudy and bitter due to suspended yeast cells. But now they are starting to settle and clarify, so we can taste with some degree of confidence.

We’ve been doing this for a long time, so admittedly there are no real surprises. The wines reflect the vintage and our light hand in respecting this vintage. These are wines for early consumption: light, crisp, pretty and aromatic. With their low alcohols and high acidity I can’t stop thinking about summer al fresco meals with salads, fresh garden veggies, and fish.

The 2018 wines are quite a contrast to our previous three vintages which produced bigger, concentrated age worthy wines. Perhaps we could refer to 2018 as the intermezzo vintage: a fun, refreshing palate cleanser that makes us smile and gives us pause.

This is the beauty of vintage variation. Each year has its own personality and style. This gives us a very intimate relationship with our environment, with which we cannot control, but we can adapt and interpret. Never a dull moment on the farm.

Linden Vineyards / Learn More / Latest at Linden | Journal: November 5, 2018