By Chester Osborn, www.darenberg.com.au/
The weather in the last two weeks has been perfect, nice and mild
We had right on average rainfall for the year but lots of it fell in Autumn when the soil cracks had not closed so the clay soils gained more than normal. Winter was quite cool but bud burst and flowering was early. A heat wave at flowering decimated the crop of Grenache and reduced set on Chardonnay and some Cabernet Sauvignon, however all other varieties set well.
Stainless steel baskets are used for some reds and all whites
Vigour is beautifully balanced with no need to water on many soils. Crop levels are very low for Grenache (many being 0.5 tonne to the acre), and Chardonnay came in at two tonnes to the acre on average, but all other varieties are normal. January was very dry and there was some heat at veraison which works well. Ripening has been mild with most days around or below 30 degrees with only a little rain about three quarters of the way through harvest. Nights have been cool to mild as a whole.
The white varieties of Riesling, Chardonnay, Viognier, Marsanne and Roussanne are showing strong varietal characteristics with the Adelaide Hills wines looking excellent.
Night shift crew watching the sun set over McLaren Vale from the top of the tanks.
All the crops appear balanced and the red varieties are hugely exciting. The skins are very thick and dark with a good level of tannin. Early picked Shiraz is peppery with elegance and lots of length. Cabernet shows outstanding varietal character and tannin. Despite low crop levels Grenache is strong with loose clusters producing dark and very varietal concentrated wines with nearly all berries being shrivel free. Berries have been turgid which always makes great wines. The vintage started about a week early but as it stayed dry and with balanced vines it was stress free and the grapes came on faster than normal. Sugar levels for most reds needed to be at the higher end of the scale to get the best flavour, however Grenache worked well not too ripe. The Pinot Noir from the Adelaide Hills looks great with lots of character although yields will be down due to some rain and weevil damage. The finish will be earlier than usual with the usual suspects coming in last, Mourvèdre then Petit Verdot.
Tags: Australia, d'Arenberg, Harvest diary, McLaren Valle