Hand harvesting for our Estate Chardonnay commenced last Sunday in perfect conditions. This was one week later than last season and, it appears we are tracking on a more “normal” ripening season.
The weather has been warm, with cooler evenings than the past couple of years, which is resulting in great flavour and acid retention in the fruit.
The Dijon clone 95 from three of our best vineyard blocks has been picked and, looks outstanding. Concentrated flavours of lemon, grapefruit and pear with low sugar levels and excellent acidity has the winemaking team very excited. We are currently harvesting the Gin Gin clone Chardonnay which provides the more powerful core to the wine. Prone to millerandage, this clone has a high percentage of tiny berries this season due to the cool windy growing season. The fruit is currently in the lemon/grapefruit spectrum with excellent natural acidity and, we are all very optimistic of another potentially wonderful year for Chardonnay from our vineyard.
The other white varieties – namely Sauvignon Blanc and Semillon, are also ripening steadily in the fine and mild conditions. I expect we will commence harvesting these varieties sometime this week as, we wait for the vines to put the final finishing touches to the grapes!.
It is always great to start a harvest in fine dry weather, and with another week of warm days and cool nights forecast, the conditions should see a significant percentage of our whites harvested.
Cheers,
Steve James.
