Winery & Vintage Info
The 2023/24 growing season can be compared to 2003 and 2018 seasons in terms of very low rainfall. We received approximately 200mm of rain between June 2023 and January 2024, which is significantly less than the seasonal average of 320 mm. Coupled with higher than average daytime temperatures this saw all growth stages occurring earlier than traditional timing. Budburst was two weeks earlier than 2022 and we saw this trend continue throughout the growing season. The silver lining of the drier conditions saw us being able to complete all our vineyard practices with the preferred timings and all the fruit delivered to the winery were well within our expected quality specifications. Harvest started on Thursday 4th January, a full 17 days earlier than 2023 and wound up on 1st February.
Fruit sourced from red clay soils and mature vines. The grapes were picked early morning on Wednesday 10th January 2024, immediately transported to the winery for crushing and de-stemming into the press. Extraction rate was around 630 litres per tonne. The resulting juice was cold settled in stainless steel tanks. Once settled the juice was inoculated with a cultured yeast and then a cool fermentation for about 8 days. The wine was bottled in May 2024.
