THE 2010 vintage is almost here and soon there’ll be all hands on deck.
January was spent bottling the last of the wines from the 2009 vintage, emptying tanks into oak, ready for bottling later in the year, and netting vines to alleviate bird damage.
The press and crusher have been cleaned and the picking bins are stacked and ready for harvest.
The weather leading up to vintage plays a vital role in fruit quality.
Hot conditions from previous weeks caused some damage to the weaker vines, which had inadequate vine cover to protect the fruit.
Scorched leaves in other varieties might also mean fruit will not ripen sufficiently through the vine’s inability to photosynthesise.
On the upside however, other varieties came out of the heat virtually unscathed and if mild weather continues, the resultant wines promise to be sensational.
We have always grown chenin blanc. It has a canny knack of withstanding the heat very well and is also ideally suited to the Swan Coastal area. Chenin blanc naturally holds acidity and combined with the limestone-based soils in the region, holds its freshness remarkably well.
As the Australian wine industry matures, you’ll see more and more wines sold on a ‘regional’ basis.
In Europe, certain varieties can only be grown in particular areas by law.
Throughout France for instance, chardonnay can only be grown in Burgundy and cabernet sauvignon in Bordeaux.
This is certainly not the case in Australia, where any single vineyard can host several plots of different varieties.
What we are finding, however, is an affiliation with varieties and their region and site (known as ‘terroir’).
In WA, for example, sauvignon blanc semillion from Margaret River has a unique grassy character.
It’s of no coincidence that cabernet sauvignon and merlot also do well in its Mediterranean climate, which mimics that of Bordeaux where these grapes grow exceptionally well.
Australia is now known for regions that have forged reputations in producing styles unique to their region.
Today, wine experts extol the virtues of a Barossa shiraz, a Hunter semillon, a Clare Valley riesling or a Yarra Valley pinot noir.
In our case, I believe chenin blanc and shiraz particularly excel in our unique part of the world. I recently spent a day visiting a couple of our growers. I looked at pinot noir vineyards in Pemberton and sauvignon blanc in Margaret River. Both these varieties excel in the cooler southern region of the State, so naturally I wanted to source fruit from these areas.
I also looked at chardonnay – another cool-climate favourite and the fruit of which is about four weeks from ripening.
My intention is to make a premium cool-climate chardonnay, and through comparing Pemberton and Margaret River, hope to make a wine that optimises their regional attributes.
This is common practice in Australia when companies pick from particular areas to make particular styles – and most importantly, it’s a lot of fun in the process.