Vineyard Diary 2001
November/December 2001
It's time to start major work in the vines with the pulling out of our last Ugni Blanc white grapes to make way for some more Merlot. We have also pulled up some old Merlot vines which are not producing the quality we want and will plant in 2002 with the best clone and rootstock available.
The first indications of quality for the 2001 vintage are very promising. The Merlot in particular may be the best in 5 years and the Sauvignon Blanc is also terrific. We end the year on a high!
October 2001
The fantastic "Indian summer" continued until the 17th October providing 10 extra days of ripening weather. The Cabernet Franc was harvested on the 14th, fully ripe. The Cabernet Sauvignon came in on the 17th in very healthy condition. The alcohol potential in 2001 is high, between 13% and 14% depending on the grape variety. We are excited about the quality potential and will be able to produce concentrated, fruity wines with good structure and ripe tannins.
On the 5th October the waiting was over and we began harvesting at 4am. We harvested all the Sauvignon Blanc and most of the Merlot over a 24 hour working day! We then took a break until Sunday 7th when we harvested the Semillon and the Muscadelle. With lovely sunny weather we are leaving the Cabernet Sauvignon until the last possible moment for extra ripeness.
October 1st is here and we have not started the harvest. Everything is ready but we will wait for more ripeness, of the sugars and polyphenols.
September 2001
Normally this would be a tense time of year waiting for the harvest. But this year the ripening is much later than usual because the wet winter has given the vines too much to drink too easily. This encourages precocious vegetation which delays the maturation of the grapes. The red grapes are not too much delayed, being only about a week behind but the whites are slower. The Sauvignon Blanc in particular is very slow and needs another three weeks if we can count on good weather. So far, September has been very kind with warm days and not much rain. At the end of the month we spent three days selecting the botrytised grapes from the Sauvignon Blanc. Botrytis is the noble rot that produces exceedingly sweet grapes and deliciously complex flavours. We could make a sweet desert wine with the first "tri" (selection) but we will vinify it dry to add complexity to our dry white wine.
August 2001
The 'veraison' is now under way and grapes are turning red progressively in the coming days. The weather has been very hot for several weeks but some much needed rain began to fall on 15 August. On the 20th August we started the green harvest by cutting out all the bunches which will not ripen fully in time for the harvest. Although expensive, (and heartbreaking!), this process ensures we will only have very ripe grapes in our wine and no green vegetal flavours to contend with.
The new plantation has been completed with 1500 Malbec vines and 6900 Cabernet Franc now planted with a density of 13000/Hectare. This is roughly four times the normal density and equivalent to the very best chateaux in France. (The higher the density, the deeper the roots go to find water and the better the quality of juice that results.) Clonal selection was very strict with the best rootstock and best vine being chosen for quality over quantity. We will have to wait three years before we can harvest grapes from the new vines but the quality should be stunning.