Like the previous few vintages, the 2010 harvest was preceded by a very inclement spring with plenty of rain and some terrible wind. This made for uneven budding, flowering and fruit-set: not a good sign for the harvest to come. A diligent spraying programme, however, ensured a surprisingly disease-free vineyard with a healthy looking crop going into harvest 2010. But just when you think you are in the clear, Mother Nature throws another curve-ball at you. Odd patches of rain in the early season followed by a few stifling heat spells caused a lot of uneven ripening among the grapes, which made making that call to pick a bit of a lottery!However, brilliant cooperation from the vineyard team meant that most of the vineyards were picked two and even three times, as there were ripe and green bunches on the same vine. At the end of the harvest, I am happy to report that all the head-aches and extra efforts were very worth our while, as crop levels were spot on and I am very happy with the over all quality of the 2010 harvest.
With the wines in tank and barrel, a few assumptions can be made. White wines show a combination of leaner flavours from early pickings, filled out with rich, ripe fruit from the latter half of the season.
The uneven ripening always takes its toll on red grapes, but by adjusting our picking schedule to bring in fruit on a selective basis we averted a potential drop in quality. In fact, some red wines seem to have ignored the inclement weather and challenging conditions and have gone on to excel! Cabernet Franc is a rising star, and Shiraz is really of an exceptional quality this year.
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