Vintage began on 21 January – it felt like it was a bit later than usual as the fruit was less ripe than it was at this time last year, but perfect for the base wine for the Sparkling Chardonnay.
We then left picking for a week and picked the first batch for the Gig: Unwooded Chardonnay on 27th Jan.
We pick on alternate days, as the fruit is then put into the coolroom to cool it down overnight to about 4 degrees and then the next day we process!
12 Feb, was the last pick of the white grapes, Derek was in a dilemma as to whether to pick them before the heat of this weekend…but wanted them slightly riper, so left them to enjoy the heat, Derek pondered “I’ve made some of my best Reserve
Chardonnays from fruit that seems a bit sun damaged, but I hate seeing them frazzle”
The red harvest started with Merlot picking on Thursday 16 Feb. First the red grapes are crushed and destemmed then put into a cold soak for 24 hours; when the fruit is chilled down to about 4 degrees and held there for 24 hours.
After that the must (a mixture of grapes, skins, pips, grape flesh and juice) is allowed to warm up and we add the yeast culture to start the ferment.
Then starts the real grind!
As the reds are ferment away, they require plunging and pumping over every 6 hours (a bit like feeding a baby) This goes on for about a week until all the sugar has reacted with the yeast and the wine is ‘dry’. The fruit is then pressed and we start on the barrel work…deciding which batches go into which barrels.
In Summary
Overall the growing season was relatively cool with late rain in December, which replenished the groundwater and the vines looked absolutely fantastic.
Then we had the hot spell over Christmas, which didn’t seem to physically damage the fruit, but did result in lower natural acids than usual.
The yields were down, particularly on the whites, there just wasn’t as much fruit as usual on the vines. Grapes have a trade off between quantity and quality, so the 2013 wines look fantastic, but there won’t be as much of this vintage as I’d like