Without any of the, used-to-be-normal, several multi-day spikes above 100, we had no sun-damage; without any rain before harvest, we had no botrytis; and with the long and very warm ripening period, we had no unripened berries. Even with no irrigation or rainfall and daily relative humidity in the single- and extremely-low-double digits, there was no raisening. In short, we had perfect clusters this harvest.
The overriding characteristic of this vintage should turn out to be flavor. If ever there were an Oregon growing season to let the grapes fully ripen, 2014 was it. And, ripen they did.
Surprisingly, sugar and acid levels were not as indicative of the clear, hot, dry ripening weather as might be expected. Compared to 2012 (a Pinot vintage that may go down as one of the most consistently great Oregon Pinot vintages, but nowhere near as warm a season or a finish): 2014 Brix levels were at least a half degree lower; and while 2014 TA was slightly lower than 2012 and 2014 pH was about 0.1 to 0.2 units higher than 2012, Tartaric acid levels were approximately the same, with the main decrease in acid being from the almost negligible levels of Malic acid we saw this year. [It will be interesting to see the effect of intervention vs non-intervention after the wines go through MLF. I would guess there are a goodly number of winemakers that looked at Brix, TA, and pH and then proceeded to water down and add Tartaric, without noticing there was little to no Malic in the must.]
Unlike 2013, which practically mirrored 2014 (at least, until the last week or so before harvest), 2014 fermentations were long and slow; gradually warming up and only hitting the 90F range at less than 5 degrees Brix. We barreled down the last tank yesterday; about 28 days after the grapes were picked.
Here are a few photos of what the caps looked like during early fermentation and what the wine looked like at the press (photos don't do justice to the colors):
