2002 Vintage

[bceagles39]

I was wondering how early wines of a particular vintage "hit the shelves" so to speak. I am sure this varies greatly, but I was curious how long until, say, 2002 cabernets from CA would be generally available.

[wondersofwine]

bceagles, in most cases the 2001 vintage cabernet sauvignons from California are being released this fall-two years after harvest. According to Winoweenie, one of our more voracious CA C.S. consumers on the board, some of the more highly regarded wineries hold the wines a couple years longer than that. I attended a special California "barrel tasting" of 2001 vintage last April in Washington, DC. We could order wines at that time and they will be available for pickup sometime this fall. So the 2002 Cabernet Sauvignons should for the most part be released in fall of 2004, with some wineries possibly holding them longer. Also, some could be available sooner at the winery or in California, but shipping in the heat of summer is not a "cool" idea (double meaning), so that may be why the bulk are shipped in the fall.

[This message has been edited by wondersofwine (edited 07-28-2003).]