Last year, we wrote that 2013 stood out as one of the hottest, driest growing seasons on record. 2014 has taken that statement to the next level. This is our second drought year in a row, which means lower yields, smaller berries and incredibly intense fruit. Harvest came early, with the first picks happening in late August, and the last pick wrapping up in mid-October. Usually we harvest the last of our fruit around Thanksgiving. While the very early and very fast harvest made for hard work in the winery, it also made for great wines in the bottle. The 2014’s show bold, rich fruit and a lot of power but also the kind of structure and finesse that makes them very age-worthy. Jeb Dunnuck writes that Joey’s 2014’s are “outstanding,” and “…take concentration and ripeness to the extreme yet hold everything together beautifully.” We are well into our third drought harvest at this time, with fruit arriving even earlier this August than last. With small clusters and even lower yields than those of 2014, it looks like 2015 may well be our most extracted, concentrated vintage yet.