Well what a vintage 2023 was! We must have done something right to have had such amazing conditions.
After a nice wet winter, followed by a mild spring, summer has definitely sneaked up on us.
The milder summer meant that the grape flavours developed gradually along with the sugar levels. Ultimately wine is fermented grape juice, the more interesting and complex flavours the grapes have, turns into more interesting wines for you.
Monday 9th January 2023, started with a walk through the vineyard, checking on the different blocks of grapes. We sampled the river block of Chardonnay as this will be the first block we pick.
This batch of grapes is destined for our Sparkling Chardonnay.
The vineyard is looking amazing. The leaves are all nice and green, the bunches of grapes are getting bigger and starting to ripen.
Thank Goodness the yields were up compared to the last few years, as now I can make enough wine for us all… hopefully we won’t run out of Verdelho this year!
The quality of the 2023 fruit was also excellent, making for some very happy winemakers around the region.
Right now we are busy little bees in the winery, getting your young whites ready for bottling. I’m also putting the 2023 red wines into barrel, blending your 2022 reds and squeezing in a holiday or two.
Before we know it, pruning time will be here, so I’m going to soak up as much of this sunshine I can get!