The onset of Winter

The vines are dormant and pruning has commenced. The ferments are done and the 2010 wines are peacefully resting in their barrels. It is a tranquil, if freezing, time of the year.

The 2010 Summer was characterised by slightly higher than average temperatures of which the feature was 120 days where the Melbourne maximum did not fall below 20 degrees. It certainly was not a hot summer and we only had one day above 40 and very few days in the mid 30s. The acidities are very good and the wines have a lovely intensity and tightness. The chardonnays are quite piercing and the Quartz is displaying a pleasing richness and power. The pinot noirs have clear varietal and vineyard expression and seem to have a deeper than usual tannin structure and drive. After the much reduced volume of 2009 we have a good volume of 2010 where yields were around the five tonnes per hectare.

We now have 27 solar panels adorning the winery roof harvesting the sun's energy. Pleasingly, the roof pretty much faces north and is clear of shading so it is an ideal location. It is a great pleasure to both see the panels basking in the light and to see the meter turning backwards as we put power back into the grid. This system will produce around three times as much power as we consume so we will be selling our excess to the power company. The payback period is expected to be between five to six years.

The other capital work going on presently is the installation of a ten metre high frost fan. We have used water sprinklers to combat spring frost for the last decade but with so little run off and a recently installed bore that is a bit too saline we have turned (!) to a turbine to protect the fragile spring shoots. Movement of air will work for most of the frosts (down to around minus 2) we experience but in the event of a black/inversion frost, where the above air is freezing as well as the ground air, we will revert to our sprinklers which will protect by continually applying water. As the water freezes energy is produced and stops the shoot/bud temperature falling below about -0.5. The vines look dramatic in the morning when they are covered in ice but the shoots remain undamaged.

There is always another project to take on. The old shearing shed is next in line, then there's about five kilometers of fencing that needs replacing. It'd be lovely to sneak in a few more acres of vines on a couple of outstanding sites just over the ridge from Block 5. One year we keep saying. One year!

The contrast between February 2009 and 2010 could not be more dramatic. Last year we experienced four days over 40 degree whereas this year we have barely had a day over 30 degrees. A welcome added bonus has been over 70mm of rainfall which has help put the vines in excellent condition as we progress towards harvest. The weather has been, and continues to be, more indicative of mid to late Autumn conditions which is quite remarkable after the past four seasons. It is a very pleasing change.

The 2010 Pyrette Shiraz has fermented well and is resting in barrel. It has an outstanding colour, very deep and complex fruit aromatics and the tannins are becoming quite voluminous and quite fine. In another few weeks when it has begun to settle it will be really interesting to observe its personality.

On Saturday the 27th of February we bottled the 2009 Pyrette and the 2009 Bindi Composition Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. The wines have gone very well into bottle and I expect them to be looking fantastic when they are released in June. The Chardonnay is very vibrant and pure with wonderful intensity. The Pinot is gorgeous for its red fruits and spice and balance. The Shiraz is complex with red and dark cherries, earth and spice and has lovely flair and harmony. The 2009 Quartz, Original Vineyard and Block 5 remain in barrel and will be bottled in July for release in October.

We have also disgorged and packed some 2003 Chardonnay/Pinot Sparkling for release in June. It has had six years on lees and is super intense and focused.

Thankfully we have dodged the hail and are looking forward to harvesting the fruit this coming weekend. The vines are in excellent health: there is no disease despite the frequent rain and humid weather.

The 2010 season is progressing well. We have completed our crop thinning and the first signs of colour change in a very few pinot noir berries is just appearing. We expect the full veraison to take place in the first week of February which indicates a harvest time towards the end of March. Next week we will begin putting out the nets to protect the ripening fruit from the birds.

I visited the Heathcote vineyard yesterday and the fruit is looking very good. The crop is around the 2.5 tonnes per acre mark (about 6 tonnes per hectare) and the canopy is full and green but certainly not dense or vigorous. The crop will be hand harvested around the 20th February.

The 2009 Composition wines and the 2009 Pyrette Shiraz are coming towards the end of their time in barrel and will be bottle on February the 27th. They are looking absolutely delicious and I am quite excited about their style and quality.

Happy New Year

We enter a new year debating what to call it. Twenty Ten is what I'm going with. But I will accept Two Thousand and Ten!

The vines are looking excellent apart from some very minor hail damage from last week's thunderstorm. The loss would be well below half of one percent. The damaged berries are already drying up and will shortly fall from the bunch.

The season has been impressive for the consistent falls of good rain that are maintaining excellent soil moisture with the follow up of warm, dry weather that has kept disease pressure low. The canopy and fruit is in excellent health. We have already dropped some fruit from small canes and removed some lateral shoots on the eastern side of the canopy to allow for greater sunlight and air penetration. Even though we did not experience any shrivel or sunburn last February we are not doing any removal of shoots on the western side for fear of extreme heat and the possibility of sunburn.

Over the last two weeks we have racked all the 2009 wines for the first time off lees and sulphured them and returned them to barrel. The wines were on lees for around nine months. Now that they are settling down the true nature of each wine is more transparent and the quality of the vintage is evident. The wines are very intense and complex. There is a bit of 2005 following 2004 going on with 2009 following 2008. By this I mean a year of extra intensity and complexity following a vintage of super perfume and silkiness. That said, 2005 had more acidity where as 2009 has more tannin. Generalisations, of course, but it's always a interesting mindset to compare and interpret each new vintage in relation to those gone by.

We turn our thoughts to the netting early February, bottling 2009 Compositions and 2009 Pyrette late February and the receipt of the 2010 Pyrette Shiraz grapes late February, early March.

The growing season is progressing very well after a cold start. Two exceptionally hot weeks in November have seen prolific shoot growth and the beginning of flowering (ten days earlier than usual). Over the past few days we have experienced nearly 100mm of rain which has provided perfect moisture levels for flowering. The forecast is for more rain over the next few days. For the first time this year we are experiencing some run off into dams. The only detractions from this timely rain are the possibility some berries will not set and the disease pressure will increase with the humidity.

We have made seven hand passes already in the vineyard. Three passes have been made to lift foliage wires to train the new growth vertically, one pass to remove water shoots/suckers and three passes have been made to remove superfluous shoots in the crown and on the spurs and canes. This then concentrates the vines' energies on the correct shoots' development and reduces canopy density. If the canopy is too dense light and air movement is restricted or blocked and disease pressure mounts. Further down the track fruit ripening is inconsistent as many of the bunches will be shaded. Also, a denser canopy requires more frequent, heavier spraying and perhaps use of non organic applications.

The 2008 wines are all sold out now and we are monitoring the maturation of the 2009s in barrel. The volumes in 2009 are down significantly. Soon we will begin to rack the reds off lees as the malo-lactic conversion is nearly completed and we will rack the chardonnays off lees and sulphur them up to keep them fresh after they have been building richness and texture over the winter.