Summer '06

As this is written veraison is upon us with many of the grapes in the vineyard turning that lovely burgundy colour. The 2006 crop is very even across all 4 vineyards and the shoot thinning exercise lead by the relentless efforts of Nic will see a crop of about 1 tonne an acre, which is just below what we are aiming for – 3 tonnes in total as a guesstimate. The thinning also opens up the canopy and lets the light and wind in to keep away the nasty fungi, but also makes picking much easier as you can get at the bunches more readily. This year we have virtually no fungus courtesy of Nic’s work and the occasional reminder phone calls from Richard checking as to whether we have organised the sulphur spray regime at key intervals.

As to when harvest is likely to be, it is a bit hard to predict. We have to factor in the late flowering (about 4 weeks delayed) due to the wet October/November plus the very benign summer we are having which will most likely push back full ripening somewhat. But then the vines are the healthiest we have ever seen them with a strong and very green canopy which means the grapes are likely to ripen more quickly particularly given the lowish yield. We also want to keep down the alcohol level to around 13-13.5% so that means picking about a week earlier than in past years.

So the best guess at the moment is around the last week of March. This of course, as Murphy writes the rules, will most likely clash with the Adelaide Hills Harvest Festival when we will be setting up at the Scenic Hotel with Basket Range Wines on the 2nd April. Herbie is putting on Rabbit Strudel and a ‘Vegetarian Option’, plus a range of deserts. Anyway, we’ll keep you posted.

Re the 2005 vintage, the pinot is looking pretty good but we are advised that it lacks the penetrating pinot pong the pundits look for so it has been suggested we do some whole bunch trials (20 and 40%) for the 2006. Nevertheless the 2005 looks fantastic – good weight, mouthfeel, colour and the nose is coming back following malolactic fermentation. The chardonnay is also looking very promising – both will be bottled in the next fortnight or so, rather than leaving the wine in barrel for 18 months.

This shorter time is because the 2004 was left on oak for 18 months - it was bottled about 3 months ago and it is still recovering and is a bit ‘dumb’ and out of balance. It is gradually becoming more integrated but the oak is still prominent as the bottling process ‘retards’ the fruit temporarily and it takes about 6 months for the fruit to fully recover. We anxiously wait to see if the wine will eventually begin to look like the 03.

Speaking of which for those that haven’t heard the 2003 pinot managed a bronze medal at the Adelaide Hills Wine Show in November 05. The 04 was not on the radar because of the aforementioned late bottling. The 03 wasn’t on the radar the previous year either – it seems like NSV pinot is a late maturing number, so maybe the 04 might look reasonable this coming November for the 06 show. We’ll see. Anyway the 03 is now pretty much all gone.

The vineyard is a bit more than a hobby now, even though it is pretty well established – it’s taking around 2 days a week, so travel interstate and overseas has diminished accordingly. With such an incredible summer this year Kenn’s really enjoying being around. We look forward to seeing you in 6 weeks or so for the main event.....

Cheers

Kenn & Meredyth