The 2015-16 season has commenced and what an unusual beginning it has been. From the coldest, harshest winter in 20 years with just enough rain to achieve good soil moisture we have jumped straight into an exceptionally warm, dry Spring. Sadly, the promising rains of mid winter have seized up and things are drying out rapidly. The positive to this is that the new shoots are really pushing along and not getting trapped in a restrictive Spring cold snap. We have begun our series of intensive vineyard passes with ploughing, mowing, aerating, mulching and spraying (sulphur, seaweed and fish) and it’s a great pleasure to see the under vine strip of soil gently turned and opened. Certainly, the prolific number of earthworms are testament to the health of the soil!
The 2014s we offered have all but run out and we are paying careful attention to the evolution of the outstanding 2015s in barrel. All those we show these wines to are quite astounded at the fruit purity, depth of flavour and harmony the wines already show. As we always say, these are early days and we look forward to nurturing the wines to bottling and seeing how they settle and evolve.
There has been concerning news north of the range with some incredibly early season fire danger. Thankfully nothing has been close to Bindi however friends and fellow vignerons have been distressed with the proximity of fire, particularly so early in the season. We will be doing our usual clearing and mowing and organising our fire fighting gear earlier than usual this season with the hope it is not required.
Now, may the warmth of Spring continue with the addition of a few hundred millimetres of rain!
