What a difference a year makes: from the justified optimism of 2010 to the recurrent use of ‘challenging’ and ‘difficult’ to describe the abnormally wet and cool 2011 in eastern Australia. Just to demonstrate the size of the country, the west had a hot, dry and early vintage, more of which anon.
When the drought finally broke in September 2010 the rain brought widespread relief. The problem was it didn’t stop, instead gaining in intensity, with massive rainfall in many parts of the eastern seaboard in December. The floods in Queensland made international headlines, but northeast Victoria was also flooded. Overall, vintage was delayed by up to four weeks.
When the Australian Bureau of Agriculture and Resource Economics announced a preliminary estimate for 2011 of 1.5 million tonnes, down 2% on the 2010 figure of 1.573 million tonnes, it was greeted with disbelief; there is widespread belief the crush will be considerably less than 1.5 million tonnes.
SOUTH AUSTRALIA
One piece of frequent good news is that due to the slow ripening, baume levels were lower than normal, but flavours are riper than the baume (and hence alcohol) levels would suggest. The corollary is good levels of natural acidity. Overall, the white varieties, especially riesling and chardonnay, are looking much better than their red counterparts. The red variety that was most successful across the board was cabernet sauvignon. The bad news was growers first having to contend with downy mildew, then powdery mildew, and a coup de grace of botrytis. Crop losses affected all regions. The Barossa Valley is the epicenter of South Australian shiraz, and often elevated to a near-mystical touchstone for the whole industry. There were the inevitable reports of some ‘exceptional parcels’ of this or that (try sangiovese), but I found one comment particularly telling: ‘Time will tell how the 2011 vintage is regarded, but I expect it will be a talking point in the Barossa over a post-crush beer for years to come.’ Four times the average rainfall meant some vineyards were not picked at all. Those with well-managed old vine vineyards with moderate yields of shiraz, grenache and cabernet may produce some nice red wines, otherwise head to the hills of the Clare Valley for some stunning riesling. Jeffrey Grosset says ‘must be some of the best I’ve seen … high natural acidity close to ideal.’ Stephen Henschke agrees, saying Eden Valley riesling is the standout variety, and cabernet sauvignon was the only red to stand up to one of the wettest Marchs and coldest Aprils on record, shiraz suffering significantly from botrytis. The story from McLaren Vale was of record or near-record rainfall, starting in September and continuing through to vintage, compounded by temperatures that seemed cool (no sun) but were average, and conducive to mildew and botrytis – success or failure depended on canopy management to open up the foliage, control of yield, and pre-emptive spray programs. If everything came together, the reward was flavour development at 13° to 13.5° baume, with cabernet sauvignon to the fore, some good parcels of shiraz and white wines with good acidity. Adelaide Hills also had a very tough time, chardonnay the weakest link (botrytis endemic and odd ripening patterns), yet sauvignon blanc, riesling and pinot noir from the best blocks of the best vineyards, with scrupulous sorting in the vineyard and winery, had lovely flavours and bright acidity at low baume levels. Coonawarra was all over the place, with some shiraz and merlot not even picked because of rampant disease, the better cabernet sauvignon said to be in ‘the old Coonawarra claret style with low-ish alcohol, medium weight and slightly astringent tannins.’ It was not the only region to issue a feel-good press release that seemed to have little connection with reality. Wrattonbully was a disaster, the Riverland similar in some parts, although better in others; even here significant crop losses occurred.
VICTORIA
Reports from the high country regions of Macedon Ranges, Upper Goulburn, Alpine Valleys and King Valley all told much the same story: record rainfall; massive disease pressure, first downy mildew, then botrytis; agonisingly slow ripening; white varieties much better than reds, though one grower reported ‘none’ to the question of standout varieties; crop losses from significant to total; sparkling wine bases good. Growers in central regions such as Bendigo that used pre-emptive disease sprays produced excellent cabernet sauvignon, and Heathcote, where attention to detail in vineyard and winery alike resulted in fine, spicy, medium-bodied wines with real charm. Those who took their eye off the ball were severely punished, with the same pattern in the Goulburn Valley/Nagambie Lakes. The upside was flavour development at low baumes. Grampians, Pyrenees and Henty regions in the southwest had less rainfall than the rest of Victoria, and while disease pressure continued through to February, there is cautious hope for some special parcels. Glenrowan had a hard time: the white wines will be average, and no fortified wine varieties were picked, leaving cabernet the only hope. Beechworth was a case of all or none; diseasefree grapes were perfectly balanced, with great potential. The Yarra Valley and Mornington Peninsula both faced the same challenges from seemingly unending rainfall, cool temperatures and disease pressure. In the Yarra there was widespread agreement that the chardonnays are ‘brilliant’, ‘sublime’, ‘beautiful’ and so forth, pinot noir perfumed and delicate, but light-coloured. The Peninsula is likewise enamoured of its chardonnay, with excellent natural acidity and great flavour at low baumes, pinot noir fractionally more variable. Geelong is pinning its hopes on elegance and aromas from grapes picked at lower baumes then usual. No region escaped without some crop losses.
NEW SOUTH WALES
The Hunter Valley had the usual vintage with periods of rain interspersed with bursts of heat (up to 46°C) but was spared the Queensland deluges, the heavy rain either falling out to sea or to the west of the region. Relatively speaking, it was a good vintage; chardonnay was the standout, with semillon good to very good indeed, shiraz with excellent colour and acidity, alcohol in the 13% to 14% range. Mudgee had continuous rainfall from September to December followed by 10 weeks of dry weather until heavy rain in late March. Grapes picked in the window produced excellent chardonnay, shiraz a carbon copy of the Hunter, and merlot also to the fore. But the disease of September/December and the truncated vintage meant crop losses of 40% for some. Canberra District had the latest vintage for seven years (back to normal) with riesling and cabernet sauvignon the picks, especially the latter. Crop losses varied from minimal (at Lark Hill with its biodynamic regime) to 20%-plus. Orange had 1435 mm of rain between June 2010 and April 2011; for heavily cropped vines on rich, red soils it spelt insuperable problems; lower-cropped vines on bonier soils with open canopies and good spray programs produced riesling, pinot noir and cabernet franc that were more than satisfactory. In Cowra, summer went missing in action, leading to a nail-biting tussle between disease and sufficient ripeness to pick. Hilltops reflected similar challenges and significant crop losses through radical crop thinning and/or disease, but with intense flavours in remaining crops developing at much lower baumes than hitherto. Southern Highlands faced the same issues, ‘picking was really a salvage operation’ said one winemaker, most fruit with some botrytis and high levels of acidity, a good sparkling wine base. Shoalhaven Coast had an abysmal spring with intense disease pressure, but dry conditions from early December through to harvest repaid those whose spray programs in spring kept disease at bay. Semillon and tannat were the standouts. Riverina, the engine room of the state experienced one of the wettest, coolest and most humid spring and summer ever experienced. Overall, grapes came from every part of the quality spectrum, with some of the best and some of the worst seen for many years; selective harvesting of verdelho and chardonnay brought rewards.
WESTERN AUSTRALIA
Margaret River had the precise opposite to the weather of the eastern states: very warm (the hottest March on record) and dry, resulting in a very early vintage but of very high quality, similar to ’07. There is total agreement that cabernet sauvignon is outstanding, chardonnay extremely good, semillon likewise, but with sauvignon blanc less exciting. Great Southern had a dry spring and summer with the exception of January rainfall that was a mixed blessing, welcome in breaking the long dry spell, but creating downy mildew and botrytis problems. The dry, warm weather returned in February and continued right through to the end of vintage in autumn. All varieties were of high quality: chardonnay, pinot noir (in the cooler subregions), riesling, shiraz and cabernet sauvignon (the best since ’04) shone in the more northerly sub regions. A mid- to late-season issue was swarms of silver eyes deprived of the eucalyptus blossom. The Swan Valley had ‘a fast and furious’ vintage, driven by unending daytime and nighttime heat (many nights over 30°C). Grenache, shiraz and cabernet sauvignon picked at the right time had excellent colour, varietal character and midpalate weight. Surprisingly, the white varietals retained good acidity and freshness, disease a non-issue. Perth Hills had rain until end-November, then dry and warm conditions making for an excellent vintage.
TASMANIA
Tasmania, for the most part, enjoyed very favourable growing conditions, with temperatures close to long-term average. There was very little frost and cropping levels were good. Rainfall was above average but most of the high rainfall that affected the southeast corner of the mainland throughout spring and summer did not reach as far south as Tasmania. Most regions, most notably the East Coast, did record some severe rain events on 23 March, and more rain 10 to 14 April, but by that stage, harvest was well underway. Disruption to picking and some bunch rot in later ripening blocks were the main adverse effects. Quality appears to be good across the board, with sparkling, whites and pinot noir all looking very promising
QUEENSLAND
With the exception of the Granite Belt no winemakers were eager to provide information, with continuous rain up to mid-January and local flooding affecting some vineyards; whether or not flooded, the disease pressure was high, and ripening delayed by three weeks. A year for white wines, although one or two parcels of shiraz and cabernet sauvignon had good flavour. Crop losses were substantial.