The Bitch is Back

As of this posting, I’ve now given the Hilton Corot Noir vines five regularly spaced applications of Captan fungicide to avoid another black rot epidemic.  Nonetheless, over the weekend I discovered this season’s first presence of the disease in the vineyard.  Little brown circular spots with a black ring around the edge have formed on about half a dozen or so leaves, which if not addressed can quickly spread to the entire row of vines.  I removed and destroyed those leaves, and will continue to spray every week or so, but I won’t know until later in the summer if the still green, immature berries have been infected.  More photos of the row’s progress are shown here.

The new 2011 Chardonnay is on the right.

Meanwhile, the 2011 Chardonnay has continued to proceed on schedule.  After last year’s difficulty initiating malolactic fermentation, it was a relief to see this year’s version complete MLF in just two weeks, with the corresponding buttery characteristic immediately present.  As demonstrated in this side-by-side comparison of the 2010 and 2011 Chardonnays, the later version needs the benefit of several months of aging to allow all remaining settlement particles to settle, and I still have oak chips to add, but I already feel like my latest production is off to an excellent start.