Vintage 2009

This year’s vintage was almost “like a dream come true” after the pace and fury of last year. The two weeks of high heat in late January early February could have potentially been dire had they happened later on in the season. Because Eden Valley ripens about 2 – 3 weeks later than the Barossa, the grapes hadn’t gone through veraison yet and were unaffected by the heat.

The rest of the growing season was ideal, with warm days and long cool nights – perfect ripening weather! Yields for the Shiraz were lower this year and average for the Riesling but with outstanding fruit quality – a cracker year for Riesling!

Parcels of fruit came in slowly and evenly which gave the vintage a lovely relaxed pace, and a good dose of time for contemplation. We picked our final parcel of fruit in early May and have only just tucked the last lot of this year’s wines into barrel. A great vintage all round – bonne vendages 09!