What an amazing season it has been!  We started with cool weather through the budburst, flowering and fruit set periods from September through December. Christmas and early January were also very mild, but without rainfall.  At this stage it was shaping up to be a cool season similar to 2005. The latter part of January brought some welcome warmer weather, required to help the grapes mature.
 
Then came the most extreme heat we have ever experienced in Victoria, four days over forty degrees.  This occurred at the critical time of veraison, and caused the vines to completely shut down for this period, and indeed some time after.
 
Our vineyard team did an incredible job of keeping the vines healthy and minimizing sunburn to the canopy and the fruit.  My greatest concern at the time was that only half the fruit had veraised, and with uneven ripening it is difficult to make good wine.
 
A week later we had the bushfires in the Yarra Valley, trying to stay focused on the impending vintage was hard for all of us when the road is closed and many people we knew had been impacted by the fires.

We started picking our 114 and 115 clone Pinot Noir  on the 12th of February, these early ripening clones were the only blocks to have finished veraison before the heat. We then played a protracted waiting game. We had smoke covering the Valley for about a week, raising our concerns about smoke taint.  It appeared that during all these events the vines went to sleep until the weather was more kind and the air had cleared. The vineyard evened out in ripeness, and the fruit retained its health. We recommenced picking on the 4th of March, and gradually picked our property over the next few weeks, finishing on the 31st of March with our Merlot.

Looking at the wines now in barrel we are surprised by the quality given the challenges of the year.   At this stage the Chardonnay is vibrant and tight, as expected from such young wines. The Pinot Noir is also tasting and smelling really good, the wines are a testament to our amazing vineyard team who got the vines through the difficult year. Thank-you so much Stuart, Brendan and Cath.
 
We received during vintage a lovely bottle of 1997 Burgundy from the Wirra Wirra team with a note reminding us that good wines can be made in tough vintages.  We know we have done our best, and I’m pleased and relieved with the results.