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Vintage
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More Details
Winery
Waterstone
Vintage: 2012
2012 has, so far been a positive year for wineries around the world. While it may be a little too early to speak of the wines being made in the northern hemisphere, European and North American wineries have already begun reporting that their harvesting season has been generally very good, and are predicting to continue with the kind of successes they saw in 2011. However, 2012 has been something of a late year for France, due to unpredictable weather throughout the summer, and the grapes were ripening considerably later than they did in 2011 (which was, admittedly, an exceptionally early year). French wineries are claiming, though, that this could well turn out to be advantageous, as the slow ripening will allow the resulting wines to express more flavour and features of the terroir they are grown in.
The southern hemisphere has seen ideal climatic conditions in most of the key wine producing countries, and Australia and New Zealand particularly had a superb year, in particular with the Bordeaux varietal grapes that grow there and which love the humidity these countries received plenty of. Also enjoying a fantastic year for weather were wineries across Argentina and Chile, with the Mendoza region claiming that 2012 will be one of their best vintages of the past decade. Similar claims are being made across the Chilean wine regions, where Sauvignon Blanc and Cabernet Sauvignon had an especially good year. These two grape varietals also produced characterful wines on the coastal regions of South Africa this year.
Varietal: Cabernet Sauvignon
From the valleys of California and Chile to the rolling hillsides of the Bordeaux region of France, the one red wine grape varietal you will find in abundance is the Cabernet Sauvignon. This darkly colored grape has been cultivated since the mid 18th century, when it was borne from a cross of fine Cabernet Franc and Sauvignon Blanc varietals. Since then, it has spread around the world and has been received with pleasure by wineries looking for a varietal which delivers excellence of flavor and aroma, whilst being hardy enough to resist frost and rot and other such difficulties. Indeed, Cabernet Sauvignon is probably the most recognizable red wine grape varietal on earth, and is easily distinguished by its high tannin level and acidic nature, which is often so beautifully mellowed by being blended with Merlot and other such grapes.
Region: California
When it comes to New World wine regions, it is widely agreed that many of the finest wines are grown and produced in California. The long stretches of coastline and the valleys and mountainsides which come off them are ideal areas for vine cultivation, and for over a century now, wineries have found a perfect home in the hot, dry state, with many of the wines produced here going on to reach world class status. The state is greatly helped by the brisk oceanic winds which cool the otherwise hot and dry vineyards, which hold mineral rich soils covering vast areas and featuring many established wineries. The state is split into four main regions, the largest by far being the central valley which stretches over three hundred miles in length.
Country: United States
Of all the New World wine countries, perhaps the one which has demonstrated the most flair for producing high quality wines - using a combination of traditional and forward-thinking contemporary methods - has been the United States of America. For the past couple of centuries, the United States has set about transforming much of its suitable land into vast vineyards, capable of supporting a wide variety of world-class grape varietals which thrive on both the Atlantic and the Pacific coastlines. Of course, we immediately think of sun-drenched California in regards to American wines, with its enormous vineyards responsible for the New World's finest examples of Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot based wines, but many other states have taken to viticulture in a big way, with impressive results. Oregon, Washington State and New York have all developed sophisticated and technologically advanced wine cultures of their own, and the output of U.S wineries is increasing each year as more and more people are converted to their produce.
Appellation: Napa Valley
California has long been recognized as a wonderfully rich and fertile location for viticulture, and hundreds of years now, vintners in the United States of America have used the valleys and mountain sides of California for gradually building their own wine culture, based on techniques and practices brought over from the old countries. When it comes to Californian wines of real quality and distinction, however, there is nowhere quite like the Napa Valley, which is now widely considered to be one of the world's premier wine regions, and very much the standard bearer for modern, American wines. With Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Merlot and Zinfandel varietal grapes all growing well in Napa Valley, the region produces an impressive range of wines, which have had an enormous impact on the Old and New Worlds, and have changed viticulture forever.