The 2010 season is progressing well. We have completed our crop thinning and the first signs of colour change in a very few pinot noir berries is just appearing. We expect the full veraison to take place in the first week of February which indicates a harvest time towards the end of March. Next week […]
We enter a new year debating what to call it. Twenty Ten is what I’m going with. But I will accept Two Thousand and Ten! The vines are looking excellent apart from some very minor hail damage from last week’s thunderstorm. The loss would be well below half of one percent. The damaged berries are […]
The growing season is progressing very well after a cold start. Two exceptionally hot weeks in November have seen prolific shoot growth and the beginning of flowering (ten days earlier than usual). Over the past few days we have experienced nearly 100mm of rain which has provided perfect moisture levels for flowering. The forecast is […]
The 2010 season is commencing with the early warm weather (Melbourne 30 degrees on the 12th of September) as the buds are starting to push. I have seen green leaves out in Sunbury but we are still a week away. The last of the 2008s went into bottle in early August and are just beginning […]
On Tuesday the 18th of August I enjoyed tasting and discussing seven vintages of Block 5 with Matthew Hansen’s wine class at Carlton’s Tre Bicchieri. The vintages ranged from just bottled 2008 to the first release, 1997. 2008 Block 5 Having been bottled ten days ago this is unfair on the wine but interesting to […]
I have been sifting through my notes from visiting 27 makers in Burgundy during July. Here are some brief thoughts. I tasted over 400 wines, mostly 2007. There were many, many superb wines. The 2007 whites are brilliant for their vitality and minerality and purity. I think at the moment the lower level wines are […]
The first is at Kyneton’s fabulous Royal George (one Hat Age Good Food Guide 2009) featuring five local wines selected by Wine Australia as Landmark Australian wines. The Landmark event was a recent intensive presentation of Australia’s greatest and most unique wines to twelve international wine professionals, including many Masters of Wine. The wines were […]
In the past two weeks I have conducted tastings in Melbourne and Sydney for wine trade customers featuring Bindi Original Vineyard Pinot Noir showcasing ten vintages from 1992 to 2008. The aim of these tastings was to show the ageing capacity of the wines, how vintage variation plays a role and how vine age has […]
The crop has been harvested and picking finished on the 29th of March. The ferments are nearly complete as I write this and we begin pressing the Pinot Noir ferments tomorrow. The yield is below what we ideally aim for but not significantly. In the context of the myriad of trials experienced across the state […]
The week of sub 30 degree weather and 15mm of rain has settled our nerves and gifted the vines some respite from the debilitating heat of February. The fruit is fully veraised and the flavours and sugars are accumulating at a modest pace. The crop is not large and the canopy has held exceptionally well […]