Turns out I was wrong. It doesn’t happen very often, but I’m willing to admit when I’ve made a mistake!
Last week, I said I’d have some news of harvest for you in the “a matter of weeks”.
As a matter of fact, I have news this very week!
While many vineyards around the hills have been picking for a week or so now, Vintage 2024 will officially start for Somerled on Saturday.
Here is this morning’s update from Rob…
Things are nearly under way with pinot noir for Rosé the first to come off.
There’ll be a very small amount from Alister McMichael’s vineyard. We’ve been getting some of Alister’s beautiful Chardonnay fruit for the last couple of vintages due to continued lower than expected yields throughout the Hills. It’s great that we can get some pinot from him this year as well. Kim Anderson will be hand picking the rest of our pinot on Saturday. We will process both of those parcels of grapes together using whole bunch pressing to keep it nice and delicate.
Rob unfortunately confirmed what I’ve been predicting (thanks to the information provided by the weekly CropWatch reports) all vintage… yields will definitely be low again this season. Bunches are small and there is the ongoing issue of
hen and chicken.
He’s also expecting low extraction rates (that’s the term for the amount of juice you’re able to get out of 1 tonne of grapes). That’s because, with hand picking, all the stalks are included in the tonnage (when you machine pick, grapes are shaken off the stems, so they’re not included when the bins are weighed). Rob said, in the past they would normally allow 10% of the weight of a load being stalk. This year, that’s more likely to be up around 20% (again because of the small bunches and prevalence of hen and chicken).
So it’s a bit of a double whammy! My suggestion is that if you love our Rosé, get in quick when the 2024 vintage is released! It’s not going to last for long! (Don’t worry, I’ll remind of that when the time comes!)
As for the other varieties:
Rob reports that Pinot Noir for sparkling won’t be far away, especially with this terrific ripening weather we’re currently experiencing.
Chardonnay is still a week or two away, as is the Sauvignon Blanc.
Rob also happily confirms that despite the rainy weather earlier, there’s no disease at all showing up so far. Let’s hope that continues!!
A snippet from CropWatch
In last week’s update, results from berry sampling and testing around the region were reported. It was found that:
- Sauvignon Blanc at Lenswood is currently 0.5 Baumé (Bé) ahead of Macclesfield.
- Sauvignon Blanc at Lenswood is currently 3-4 weeks ahead of last season and 3 weeks ahead of Macclesfield.
- Pinot Noir at Lenswood is currently 4 weeks ahead of Vintage 23.
- Shiraz at Macclesfield is one week ahead of Vintage 23.
This suggests that vintage timing is more advanced (2-3 weeks) for early varieties compared to later varieties (one week). This may be due to the fact that while it’s been hot during the day here in the Hills, the temperatures overnight have been dropping off.
There are signs that vines are developing autumnal behaviour which matches observations of ornamental deciduous trees which are showing advanced colouring for this time of the year.
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Fumé Blanc
For the diehard Fumé Blanc fans out there, I have some excellent news for you!
It’s on the way back. Our 2023 Fumé Blanc will be heading down the bottling line next week (along with our 2023 Chardonnay!).
Thanks goodness. It’s been a long time between drinks for that one.
Most of us are familiar with Fumé Blanc (from the French words meaning “smoke” and “white”) being made from Sauvignon Blanc grapes in a style similar to Chardonnay.
But here is the rest of the story…
Fumé Blanc is a name that legendary Napa Valley winemaker Robert Mondavi developed for a wine style made with Sauvignon Blanc grapes during the 1960s. In those days, wines made with Sauvignon Blanc were very unpopular in America. They were considered too sweet, too sour, too grassy and generally unbalanced.
Inspired by the great French white wines (like wines from Sancerre of the Loire Valley), Mondavi knew he would be able to make exceptional wines with Sauvignon Blanc grapes. So, he created the name, Fumé Blanc. The style of wine he made had a deep oakiness with rich, more well-rounded sweet melon flavours. The wine became an instant hit.
Mondavi did not copyright or trademark the name, and other winemakers quickly began producing Fumé Blanc wines.
Anyway, there will be a bottle of it in your March Jockey Club packs. If you’ve been missing it, make sure to add a couple more bottles to your order. You can also shoot me an email and put away a stash for you!
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OPEN THAT BOTTLE NIGHT
One of my favourite dates on the wine calendar is coming up this Saturday (24th Feb).
It’s called…
“Open That Bottle Night”
It is the day you open THAT bottle. The one you’ve been saving for the “perfect” special occasion but, so far, have not got around to opening.
The idea was the work of husband and wife team Dorothy Gaiter and John Brecher – American journalists, authors and wine critics. They jointly wrote the wine column “Tastings” in The Wall Street Journal between 1998 and 2009. In the late 90s Gaiter and Brecher invented the annual “Open That Bottle Night” (OTBN), encouraging their readers to open a symbolically significant bottle, and then share their stories.
OTBN is celebrated on the last Saturday of February. Life’s too short never to drink those special bottles. So why not open one on Saturday night?!
And if you’re into posting your bottles on social media… don’t forget to use the official hashtag #openthatbottlenight
