Fred's Thoughts on Vintage 2021

With all the talk and concern about global warming, we were not expecting such a cool flowering and one of the coolest vintages I can recall. Late spring grape flowering conditions were in general cooler than we would have liked, so sets (that is numbers of grapes formed), were modest – particularly with the earlier varieties such as Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. That is a bit of a generalisation, as there were a few later flowering blocks that set a slightly heavier crop. The later flowering varieties such as Sauvignon Blanc, Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot set fabulous even bunches of grapes which ripened fully with great flavour profiles.

Vintage was also a lot cooler – very few days over 25C – mostly in the range 18 – 24C, so grape development was slow earlier on, which was not a bad thing as it allowed more intense flavour development. As picking loomed, we noticed that grape development accelerated which, given the cooler conditions, surprised many. However, one must realise that grape leaves are working very hard in the slightly cooler days without the stress of excessive heat loads, stronger winds and often moisture stress.

In all not a big vintage but producing very good intensity of flavour and well ripened grapes. The young wines are looking fabulous – truly showing the advantages of cool climate viticulture!

Cheers, Fred