2025 Vintage- The Vineyards Well, having flip-flopped from wet to dry winters over the last couple of years, we finally had one that might be considered “normal”. This normalcy was, however, offset by some excitement on the frost front, with a very unusual event occurring in late October, when spring was in full swing. There appeared to be no frost risk, and another cool spring morning was expected, but we were in for something of a shock. Temperatures did not get to zero, there was no frost on the ground at all, yet in a small hollow of Waverley, a frost occurred in the canopy, writing off an acre of fruit. This has never happened before, and we surely hope it never happens again. From then on, right up to harvest, we had a very solid growing season. Flowering and fruit set were solid without being spectacular and the lead up to harvest was the perfect mix of warm early autumn days, with cool evenings and mornings, allowing those classic Blind River flavors to slowly build in the fruit.
Winemaker Notes This year, for the first time since we started making wine The Loop was harvested from a single vineyard block. It has always been our philosophy that blending wine batches from different blocks provides complexity. This speaks to our approach that we aren’t scared to change things up to make the best wines possible and that we don’t make our wines by recipe. Having said that, we fermented 10% in neutral oak barrels as usual so maybe the mold has just been bent, not completely broken. Either way, these subtle changes are what keep us on our toes and forever learning about our vineyards and how to make the best wines possible each vintage. Food Pairing Matches well to spicy food. Thai, Japanese, Indian—but works equally well with seafood, particularly oysters, as well as fat cheeses.
