Documenting the journey from bud break to the excitement of our first 2025 vintage releases. This is Contra Costa wine. This is a new chapter for McCauley Estate Vineyards
Journey of 2025
Whew! What a year 2025 was. Wonderful, fun, new and exciting. It is never easy to simply summarize an entire year in a few sentences, but in this blog I wanted to paint a picture of the journey that was the 2025 growing season, harvest and crush that has resulted in 6 different wines – two whites, one rosé and three reds.
Vineyards are in a constant cycle with no true beginning and end, but we have to start somewhere, so let’s start at pruning in February, where each vine’s canes (those long stems) are cut back to only 2 small buds. It reminds me of my mother’s poodle after he had been to the groomer – all trimmed up and nearly bald. The vineyard similarly looks bare, but come March, the buds swell and green shoots appear (bud-break) and off we go on another glorious California grape growing season.
2025 weather was as close to perfect as we could wish for. It was cool but the grapes still came in early. I was surprised with my vineyard test results and had to double check my equipment, but yes, it was accurate. The Chardonnay was ready to harvest on August 6th. A week later, August 13th, so was the Sauvignon Blanc.
Harvest time means early mornings, long days, wet boots, tired muscles and a lot of anticipation. We are up before sunrise, assemble the crew, get sticky crushing grapes, wash everything down and prepare to repeat for the next variety.
By October, things finally settled down—the reds tucked safely into barrel, the cellar quiet again. Whew.
In November and December, we cold settled the whites and rosé and prepared to bottle.
Fast forward to late January:
I am very excited about our 2025 wines. I’ll cover our reds later, but first for the whites and rosé.
Our barrel aged Chardonnay is different from any previous wine we have produced. From the first tasting, it was clear this wine was something special. Full bodied, buttery and elegant, it was fermented and aged in French Oak for 5 months. I did traditional sur lie aging for this wine to create more texture and creamy flavors.
Our Sauvignon Blanc, on the other hand was purposely created to contrast the Chardonnay. The freshness and precision of this wine were apparent from the start. Stainless steel fermented and aged, it is light and crisp, with aromas of green apples and a refreshing finish. Perfect for a warm spring day (or anytime).
I do love Southern Rhone style wines, and this is how I have created our 2025 rosé. Made with 100% Mourvèdre grapes, it has lovely aromas of pink grapefruit and rose petals. We harvested and crushed our estate grapes on September 23 – a bit early for Mourvèdre, but I wanted to capture perfect level of acidity in the fruit more than worry about brix. We crushed then macerated for 3 hours before pressing, which made for a long, but rewarding day. This rosé has wonderful subtlety. It is almost delicate. You have to try it!
As for the story and release of our reds, you’ll just have to wait for the next blog. I can say that you won’t have to wait too long for the first release. A Grenache will be ready in late March—but that’s a conversation for next time.
Dennis