Vintage Summaries
2010
The 2010 season could be described as a season of two halves.
The growing season began in September with good shoot growth and development. A few spring frosts were encountered but comfortably negotiated without significant impact. Some cool weather was experienced over the flowering period which affected the fruit set across most varieties. This resulted in berry numbers per bunch being lower than previous seasons; consequently, the yield potential was restricted from this point on.
Throughout the growing season the bunches remained open due to the low berry numbers and thus crop loads were lighter than usual. Fruit thinning was still required on some blocks but, on the whole, reduced due to the light weight of the bunches.
The summer months (January, February) could be described as mild. There were few days that reached over 30Celsius which slowed the development phase of the fruit. This resulted in veraison being later than usual, the main colour change not occurring until early Autumn.
Autumn was a completely different proposition and can only be described as fantastic! Warm, dry and settled conditions helped to really accelerate the ripening phase and the fruit started to make up for the summer it didn’t really have. The weather was so fine and settled that harvest could commence at a slow but steady pace. Winemakers’ spirits rose in the confidence that an ‘Indian summer’ had started to unfold.
Chardonnay benefited from a long maturation period and was harvested later than usual but in perfect condition. Ripe, clean flavours with balancing fresh acidity are the key attributes for this variety in 2010.
By the end of March, Merlot and Cabernet Franc tasted ripe and fruit was very clean due to the continual warm conditions. Winemakers continued to hang fruit on the vine in search for additional flavour development and tannin maturity. The majority of fruit wasn’t harvested until well into April, the result being very pure and distinctive expression of these varietals.
Syrah continued to impress. There were some concerns about how this variety might perform with a cooler summer but all doubts were firmly allayed. With the settled autumn conditions Syrah performed to a very high standard and will, without doubt, produce some of the most exciting wines coming out of the Gimblett Gravels from the 2010 vintage.
Cabernet Sauvignon was a challenge but well set up and managed vineyards still produced very good quality.
In summary, the 2010 vintage saved the very best until the last. The “Indian summer’ experienced highlighted the value of settled weather over the vintage period. There is no doubt that 2010 will produce some of the most interesting wines yet from the Gimblett Gravels.
2009
Vintage 2009 on the Gimblett Gravels will be one to remember for red grape varieties and is expected to create some of the best ever wines to date.
While the season started with a few frost events during spring, the growing season through to veraison was dry and warm, perfect for wine growing. With very warm December conditions we experienced a very quick, even, flowering which resulted in great conditions for fruit set.
January brought warm, dry conditions (20 degree celcius average) which helped keep berry size small. These conditions pushed all varieties through to bunch closure and veraison very quickly setting the season up to potentially be “the perfect vintage”.
Early February brought about more dry settled weather which further accelerated ripening, but in late February we had a significant wet weather event (50mm) that put botrytis pressure on some of the early white varieties.
Due to the perfect December/January conditions fruit for the red varieties was truly ripe. Intense flavor had developed, tannins had developed nicely, seeds were ripe brown in colour and vines were in good balance, all of which signals the potential for phenomenal wine production.
Certainly the Bordeaux blends and single Bordeaux varietals produced from 2009 will be some of the best yet produced from the Gimblett Gravels.
Syrah benefitted from a longer than usual ripening period and as a result the flavours in the berries were very intense, delivering the potential for outstanding wines from this vintage.
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