2023

The vintage experienced a delayed budburst three weeks behind the average. A wet winter and spring set the vineyard up beautifully with wonderful vegetative growth and full canopies laden with fruit. The mildest of summers followed spring. With no days over 32 degrees and very few above 25 degrees it is considered a cool vintage. However six weeks of glorious sunshine and very little rain from March through to mid April created the ideal temperatures for fruit ripening.

The vineyards within the “goldilocks zone” (700m-900m) were best placed to produce wines of both finesse and power. Due to the cool wet weather in late April, vineyards at higher elevation had some difficulty achieving full tannin development and flavour ripeness. The lower sites between 600-700m have produced some truly wonderful wines with great structure and drive.

Attention to detail in the vineyard was the key to success. It was a season where you needed to spend a lot of time with the vines. Patience was needed as the harvest period was a full month later than average. It could be the best quality Chardonnay I have ever worked with. Small tight bunches, fine layered acidity, and enough of a golden hue to show some flavour ripeness and lower sugar/alcohol content.

We picked our red varieties in five batches, each parcel a little riper than the last. The resulting wines are layered with complexity.

The Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon and Syrah are all deeply coloured and defy the season with their intensity of flavour. The long ripening period, small berries, increased light interception and phenolic development resulted in dense and energetic wines. With riper tannins than in ’22, the wines hold tremendous balance. That coupled with the concentrated fruit ensure they offer long-term ageing potential.

We expect great things from all varieties and look forward to them evolving over the coming decades.

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