Vintage Reports
2013 Vintage Report
Chester Osborn
Chief Winemaker and Viticulturist
Winter rains were normal and soil reached full capacity. Spring, summer and autumn were very dry. Mid summer was mild with many cold nights, which produced great riesling with the highest acids ever seen. Vintage started slightly early. When the first shiraz was 12.5 baume, a heat wave came through which made them ripen fast and the winery was filled in about one week.
A cool week helped the next grapes to regain normal ripening. Then another mini heat wave occured which caused a jump in sugar and the winery was filled again. No stress was seen on the vines, however the window of ripening was often quite narrow (a few days). Some shrivel crept into a few blocks. As a whole, sugar levels for reds were up with flavour weight variable. All reds are black and tannic, and are looking like great wines. It was a very condensed season, all whites look really good, including fruit from the Adelaide Hills. The Adelaide Hills Pinot's look very expressive and substantial. Yields were down a bit due to the very dry spring and summer, however not down as much as some other regions.
Stand outs are seen across all varieties, with quite some variability in styles. Overall quality is high, with lesser blocks performing way above their weight. 2013 compares very well with 2012, both vintages produced many great wines that are black and well structured. It is hard to pick stand out varieties as all varieties look excellent.
2012 Vintage Report
Chester Osborn
Chief Winemaker and Viticulturist
A wet late summer followed by a wet winter in 2011 set the vines up perfectly for the 2012 vintage. However, spring and summer have been considerably drier than normal. These conditions, coupled with a fairly constant wind howling for both seasons, has resulted in the fruit set being lower than normal. Some sites lost considerable crop due to spring hail but these are few and far between.
A small heat burst just prior to veraison assured a solid colour change, small berries and told the vine to start lignification. I believe this helps to produce more pronounced tannins in the grapes. A small amount of rain and considerably cooler weather in early February has slightly enlarged the berries but has reduced the stress of the vines keeping fruit character and acidity.
Another mini heatwave reduced berry size however thanks to the previous rain shower no stress was observed and ripening progressed well.Relatively mild conditions prevailed for the rest of harvest with a couple of bursts of rain. Thankfully these were associated with strong winds so no disease was able to set in. Crop levels were largely down by 30-50%.
The whites are beautifully expressive with lovely flavours, balance, and length and with no coarseness or broadness. Reds are black, solid and quite structured, the biggest year for some time; not oily but definitely gutsy. All red varieties performed fantastically. At this stage both reds and whites are looking outstanding and I look forward to blending.
2011 Vintage Report
Chester Osborn
Chief Winemaker and Viticulturist
There was ample winter and spring rain which provided good sub soil moisture and resulted in healthy canopies and good vigour. Summer conditions were very mild with vintage starting on February 24, only a few days shy of the latest start on record. Disease pressure was high due to multiple periods of rain throughout the ripening period. The early ripening areas to the southwest were the least affected while the later ripening areas to the northeast were most affected. The minimal input viticulture practices a d’Arenberg dealt with this challenge well. With no fertilization grape skins are much thicker and cope better with common moisture related issues such as botrytis Cinerea.
It was definitely a year for diligence with many vineyards requiring stiringent bunch and berry selection. The late start to vintage and cool to cold conditions throughout also meant a long harvest. Some parcels were picked in late April and botrytis whites bound for dessert wines are still coming across the weigh bridge at time of writing in mid May.
The white varieties from McLaren Vale and some parts of Adelaide Hills are looking fantastic, showing lots of minerality and great acid. Of the red varieties the thicker skinned varieties of Cabernet Sauvignon, Shiraz and Sagrantino fared the best with some very good parcels showing strong pepper/fennel characters. Some great Grenache resulted although there was variability and some high yielding wines show soft fruity characters with ample ripeness. Those with nerve achieved reds rich, strongly fruited with very stylish fruity tannins and the best acidity seen for years.
Overall many outstanding wines across all varieties but with also more variability. Give me a cool year with disease pressure ahead of any year overly hot.
2010 Vintage Report
Chester Osborn
Chief Winemaker and Viticulturist
Good winter rains ensured adequate sub-soil moisture and set vines up well with healthy canopies. There was un-seasonably hot weather during flowering, but this did not affect fruit setting to any significant extent and vigour was beautifully balanced.
There was some more heat early in the season, but with berries only just forming in most cases it was not an issue. The rest of the season was mild with nights mild to cool with very little rain. It was another early start to vintage which started with McLaren Vale Riesling on the third of February. Both red and whites from 2010 have strong varietal characters and good balance.