Leyda 2008 Pinot Noir: Las Brisas Vineyard; a Chilean Red Wine Review
Thursday, January 28th, 2010Keeping Pinot Noir Cool in Chile with Leyda
At the Las Brisas Vineyard in Chile, Leyda Pinot Noir grapes are already situated to develop slowly. The name of the vineyard itself, Las Brisas, means the breeze in Spanish and reflects on the cooler ocean breezes that play across the southwest slopes of the vineyards and helps to keep the grapes nice and cool.
Early Vintage reports from Chile** told of cooler than normal temperatures anyway, so keeping the Leyda Pinot Grapes growing slowly was not going to be the issue. Leyda experienced many days in spring with the temperature lower than 10°C during Pinot Noir flowering. This resulted in the vines producing small and large berries within the same bunch, known as millerandage. This came after an already difficult and dry winter rain cycle that created a handicap for the vines. Drier years can create difficulties for the balance of the vine.


