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Vintage Report 2009 Vintage Report
1996 redux! Recipe: warmth at bud initiation, no frost damage, perfect conditions at flowering, hot and dry summer, mild and dry autumn. Result: Excellent crops across all varieties, grapes bursting with flavour in a one-in-a-decade vintage. Not since 1996 have we seen the elements that form a growing season line up so favourably for quality and quantity. Of course monthly figures and season totals rarely tell the whole story and it's worth looking a bit deeper to identify the key elements of the 2009 vintage. Temperatures over flowering were typical but the absence of extended windy episodes, and the lack of frost damage, were the key to setting such a good crop. The January data shows how dry the month was but the temperature figures, which look quite average, are misleading as cool nights offset a sequence of unusually hot days. 21 days during January reached or exceeded 30C with 5 days over 35C and the hottest day peaking at 40C. The heat of January, and February to a lesser extent, was like money in the bank for ripening the big crop later in the season as March and April, while dry, were cooler than average. It was fortunate that March and April were dry because drought-breaking rain in late February did produce some Botrytis which could have been problematic if conditions later in the season had favoured its spread. As it was, conditions from the end of February were next to perfect and harvesting of the big crop was achieved without any weather or Botrytis issues. The harvest delivered grapes full of flavour and vibrancy which has us very optimistic about the quality of the wines to come. It's a little beyond the scope of a vintage report but I can't resist finishing with the observation that, while winegrowing always presents challenges, they are usually of Mother Nature's making. It's ironic that this year, when Mother Nature has, for once, been at her most benevolent, the mother of all recessions has stepped in to fill the breach. Add another hostile excise increase to the mix and the next 12 months should provide enough of a challenge to satisfy any winegrower's tastes. Cheers! Here are the average harvest parameters for each variety:
Roger Parkinson 2008 Vintage Report
After the crop-depleting ravages of frost and cold weather at flowering, which bedevilled the previous three vintages, the 2007-2008 growing season saw a return to what we would like to think of as more normal conditions. We had the usual number of Spring frost events but, with the assistance of helicopters and frost pots, none were severe enough to cause any damage. Flowering conditions were benign with above average temperatures for November and December and fewer bouts of North-Westerly gales. As a result fruit set was the best since the bumper 2004 vintage. Drought conditions prevailed over the key January to March ripening period with regular irrigation needed to keep the vines in good health to ripen the crop. The warmth and low rainfall kept disease pressure completely out of the equation and meant we were able to harvest exactly when we wanted to. Harvest commenced slightly earlier than average on the 26th of March and we picked our final grapes exactly a month later with the last of the Pinot Noir coming in on the 26th of April. April rainfall was higher than average but as it fell later in the month and after we had harvested the potentially more botrytis-susceptible varieties it had little impact. It may seem contradictory but in warmer seasons we typically harvest at slightly lower sugar levels than cool seasons. 2008 certainly reflects that as the flavours we look to pick at arrived at lower sugar levels and also at better acid levels than we expected. Across all the varieties flavours in the juice were notably pure and fine and the tannin structure in the Pinot Noir should result in silky, seductive wines. Despite the warmth of the season I expect the wines of the 2008 vintage to be remembered more for their balance, purity and finesse rather than the blockbusters some might have anticipated. Here is a summary of the harvest parameters for each variety:
Roger Parkinson 2007 Vintage Report
Mother Nature provided a stern test of fortitude during the 2006-2007 growing season. On the "glass is half full" side of the equation, an extended period of warm, dry weather from mid-summer right through autumn produced ideal ripening conditions and the promise of high quality wines. On the "glass is half empty" side of the equation, frost and unseasonably cold December conditions reduced yields by an average of 50%. The first shock of the season came early on the morning of the 10th of November. With rain falling at 9pm on the night of the 9th of November and an overnight forecast low of 4 degrees the last thing we were expecting was a frost. With the leaves still sodden from rain, skies cleared and the temperature dropped to around 0 degrees from 4am until sunrise. The free water on the vines froze and caused substantial damage to leaves and flower inflorescences. December compounded the situation with very cold, cloudy conditions prevailing right through flowering and particularly affecting Pinot Noir and Riesling. In the end it's hard to assess the relative impact of the frost versus the cold December but the end result was yields at 10% of normal for Pinot Noir and Riesling and 60-70% of normal for Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc and 50% overall. From mid-January conditions improved dramatically with warm, dry and settled weather right through the ripening and harvest period. March was notably warm and the first four months of the year were the driest since the droughty 2003 vintage. With the smaller crop and ideal conditions the grapes ripened a week to ten days than usual and with no disease pressure. While it is disappointing to have had such a small crop in a perfect ripening year it is some consolation that the wines should be among the best we have produced with arresting flavours and beautiful balance in the juice across the varieties. Here is a summary of the harvest parameters for each variety:
Roger Parkinson 2006 Vintage Report
Déjà vu. When I sat down and wrote this report last year I was extolling the quality of the harvest and lamenting the quantity. The 05-06 growing season took a very different course to 04-05 but the end result has been remarkably similar. The 05-06 growing season saw a return to more typical weather patterns after the volatility of the previous two seasons. Early season conditions were benign with fewer than average frost events and not much wind. December was very warm and dry raising expectations for a good flowering and more generous yields than 2005. January and February were warm and very dry, in fact a typical Martinborough Summer. March was slightly cooler than average but ripening was well advanced and the cooler conditions took the pressure of what was already looking to be a very early vintage. Conditions over harvest were dry and settled. Harvest commenced on the 25th of March, our earliest start since 1998. While quality across the varieties looks outstanding, quantities were variable. Chardonnay and Pinot Noir were disappointing at 2 tonnes per acre and 1.3 tonnes per acre respectively. Riesling and Sauvignon Blanc redressed the balance with slightly above average yields (3 tonnes and 4 tonnes per acre respectively). The culprit for Pinot Noir and Chardonnay yields is probably the very cold December of 2004 which looks to have affected bud initiation well beyond the 04-05 growing season. My final comment is unchanged from last year; the bright spot in the low yield story is that the quality of the grapes looked absolutely outstanding, with small berries, no botrytis, excellent acid balance and arresting flavours in the juice. There will not be much wine from the 2006 vintage but what there is will be among the best we have produced. Here is a summary of the harvest parameters for each variety:
Roger Parkinson 2005 Vintage Report
Average rainfall (Oct-Apr) 381 mm If the 2005 vintage were put into song, its title would surely be "Where has all the Pinot gone?" (apologies to Peter, Paul and Mary). The 04-05 growing season was a roller coaster of highs and lows. October and November were warm and dry raising expectations for a good flowering. December put paid to that expectation with high rainfall and cold temperatures producing a diminished fruit set in general but a particularly poor flowering for Pinot Noir which coincided with the coldest and wettest part of the month. January and February were nigh on perfect, warm and very dry. March was rather unsettled with mild temperatures and intermittent drizzly conditions for much of the month. The rainfall figures for March are skewed by one large dump of rain (120mm of rain in 24 hours) on the 29th of the month. April reverted to a more normal pattern with average heat units and rainfall. December's cold conditions also contributed to a delayed harvest, which commenced two weeks later than normal, on the 14th of April. We started picking with Pinot Noir and it was immediately evident that crops were going to be significantly less than our (already conservative) expectations. We averaged 1.1 tonnes per acre for Pinot, consistent with other reported yields around the region. Riesling was similarly affected. While Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc crops were less than expected they were closer to our long-term averages at around 3.5 tonnes per acre so we were grateful for that. The bright spot in the low yield story is that the quality of the grapes looked absolutely outstanding, with small berries, no botrytis, excellent acid balance and arresting flavours in the juice. There will not be much wine from the 2005 vintage but what there is will be among the best we have produced. For the technically minded here is a summary of the harvest parameters for each variety:
Roger Parkinson 2004 Vintage ReportIt is worth printing the raw statistics of the 2003-2004 growing season (October – April) as they really do tell the story of a very demanding and unusual vintage. I've highlighted significant figures and used the outstanding 2003 vintage for some interesting comparisons:
Average rainfall (Oct-Apr) 381 mm The 2003-2004 season started promisingly with adequate levels of soil moisture and slightly above average temperatures. Spring saw 8 potential frost events (3 more than average) but none were as severe as the previous season and no shoot damage occurred. Conditions at flowering were warm and settled, resulting in a successful set and a large crop, which we selectively thinned to avoid over-cropping and potential flavour dilution. Dry, warm to hot conditions prevailed through December and the first half of January increasing expectations for a typical droughty summer. We were considering whether to irrigate on the 17th of January but with rain predicted we decided to hold off and given what followed we had no cause to regret that decision. Between the 18th of January and the 29th of February we received 308mm of rain, including 110 mm from the 14th to the 16th of February when much of the lower North Island experienced serious flooding. In a 5-week period at what is normally the driest time of the year we received 80% of our average rainfall for the entire growing season. Fortunately, March and April reverted to a more normal pattern with close to average rainfall but cooler than average temperatures which delayed the start of harvest by two weeks. Despite the extraordinary rainfall we were able, with rigorous canopy management (leaf plucking, shoot thinning, trimming, removal of botrytis-infected bunches) and spraying regimes, to harvest a good crop of clean grapes. Sauvignon Blanc, which is most prone to botrytis, was significantly reduced in volume by exclusion of damaged grapes but our other varieties cropped as expected. Surprisingly, overall heat summation was almost identical to 2003, which allowed all varieties to reach our normal ripening targets albeit at higher than usual acid levels (the legacy of lower sunshine hours). Overall quality looks at this stage to be good to very good, a result we would not have believed possible at the end of February. Roger Parkinson |
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