2022 VINTAGE REPORT: UNDER PRESSURE
If we had to come up with a defining feature of the 2022 vintage it would be "challenging". Plentiful spring rains allowed a lot of growth and canopy, which at times was hard to stay on top of, but so beneficial for our young vines and the new plantings that we completed last year. And while we love a good drink (the dam is full), rain like this certainly comes with its own tribulations. As the season progressed flowering was a mixed bunch, with our exposed Chardonnay block copping a lot of wind, but our Riesling, Gamay and Pinot Noir blocks all fared well in fruitset.
We had some respite from the rain through December and January (we spent two months watching the rain clouds skirt around us) and a return to wet weather in late February was a relief as we were starting to see the vines feel the pressure. These late February rains freshened up the canopies and washed away the dust. It was however a double edged sword, because the rain was accompanied by high humidity and we were walking the vines almost daily to ensure nothing was amiss.
Moving into autumn, when the final stages of ripening take place in the Macedon Ranges, the rain continued but we saw bursts of sunshine and dry days that coaxed the vines through their last stages of ripening. There were more than a few bitten fingernails as we performed our weekly maturity analysis in the lead up to harvest and watched the sugar levels increase and the acid levels decrease very slowly.
In the end, we had to start picking and despite all the anxiety we're so happy with the results. We started picking in early April when the Chardonnay came in and finished up on Easter Sunday two weeks later. Acids and sugars are beautifully balanced and our yields in the Gamay and Riesling are higher than ever before.
Overall it hasn't been a big bold vintage, but a vintage of delicate structure and prettiness and we're looking forward to seeing how these wines now progress through maturation and into bottle.
We had some respite from the rain through December and January (we spent two months watching the rain clouds skirt around us) and a return to wet weather in late February was a relief as we were starting to see the vines feel the pressure. These late February rains freshened up the canopies and washed away the dust. It was however a double edged sword, because the rain was accompanied by high humidity and we were walking the vines almost daily to ensure nothing was amiss.
Moving into autumn, when the final stages of ripening take place in the Macedon Ranges, the rain continued but we saw bursts of sunshine and dry days that coaxed the vines through their last stages of ripening. There were more than a few bitten fingernails as we performed our weekly maturity analysis in the lead up to harvest and watched the sugar levels increase and the acid levels decrease very slowly.
In the end, we had to start picking and despite all the anxiety we're so happy with the results. We started picking in early April when the Chardonnay came in and finished up on Easter Sunday two weeks later. Acids and sugars are beautifully balanced and our yields in the Gamay and Riesling are higher than ever before.
Overall it hasn't been a big bold vintage, but a vintage of delicate structure and prettiness and we're looking forward to seeing how these wines now progress through maturation and into bottle.