Cameron Winery -- sustainably farmed, non-irrigated, Oregon pinot noir and chardonnay

Throughout the summer of 2024, we had been waiting for the excessive mid-summer heat that we have become accustomed to over the last decade. But this year, thankfully, it never came. Instead, July was idyllic with a small bit of rain and temperatures in the 70’s and 80’s Fahrenheit.

The month of August was much the same and gave way to a few days in the low 90’s in early September. And with a relatively late bloom in mid-late June, we were set foran October vintage…truly the best time to harvest wine grapes (moderate days and cold nights which allow the fruit to ripen gracefully).

In the decade from 1994 to 2004, our Clos Electrique Blanc had 8 vintages which occurred in October and only 2 in September. But in the most recent decade we have had only 3 harvests in October and 7 in September.

While the trends have been for earlier blooms over the last decade along with much hotter summer weather, resulting in September harvests, the 2024 vintage is a reversion to the climate associated with some of our finest vintages over the years: namely a late June bloom and a cool July and August setting up a harvest in the cool of the Fall.

Adding to the magic of this vintage is the “set” that has occurred out there this year. When I tour through both the Clos Rouge and the Clos Blanc, the clusters are so perfect in their form and size that I am nearly reduced to tears in my amazement. Tiny berries are  interspersed with a few larger berries, all ripening in synchrony, and they seem to be in a choral medley singing to the sky!

The key to making this vintage a truly memorable one is  to be very very patient. Do not rush to pick; the weather does not demand it and the fruit must be allowed to reach its full potential on the vine. Mark my word: 2024 will produce some truly magical wines!