South Australia Vintages Flashcards
2015
One of the earliest harvests ever. Too early to assess quality.
2014
Extreme weather conditions are increasingly normal for Australia, and 2014 saw everything from frost to high winds to heatwaves. Yields were lower than usual and while nobody is claiming it is a great vintage, quality is generally reliable across varieties.
2013
The hottest summer ever for South Eastern Australia and yields were well down but the vine proved itself relatively resistant to the record temperatures with many varieties ripening in an unusually short period.
2012
Lower-than-average yields in Australia, as across much of Europe. This was blamed on high winds, drought and low fruitfulness resulting from the poor 2011 vintage. Quality, however, was much better than in the exceptionally damp 2011, with South Australia avoiding some of the weather extremes experienced by other states. Strong varietal typicality is a commonly cited feature of the 2012 crop.
2011
Wet across most of Australia, and ‘one of the toughest in 25 years’ according to Peter Gago of Penfolds, with lots of botrytis and mildew infections. Whites are generally thought better, with some excellent Clare Valley Riesling where fruit selection was stringent.
2010
This was the year that the rain finally came, breaking a long drought. This brought some problems later in the season, with excess rainfall encouraging some mildew, but generally the impression is a positive one across the state.
2009
A smaller vintage with another blistering heatwave to contend with. Opposite to 2008, the whites suffered most in 2009.
2008
An extremely hot year wreaked havoc with reds, but the earlier picked whites look to be good quality, and the Barossa’s oldest vines weathered the heat as they always have done.
2007
Very early, very small harvest, shrunk by the killer combination of frost and drought. Reds tend to be concentrated. Clare Rieslings are likely to shine.
2006
Rain, very welcome in some respects, interrupted harvest at the end of the fourth successive drought-affected growing season. Limestone Coast Cabernets look promising.
2005
Large crop of super-ripe wines in which both reds and whites were very successful.
2004
Record crop even though the total volume was trimmed by extreme heat just before harvest. Increasingly highly regarded reds.
2003
Eerily similar to many European 2003s, these are potent, fast-maturing reds shaped by a drought season with, often, a hole in the middle and very dry tannins on the finish.
2002
Poor weather at flowering reduced yields considerably and was followed by an unusually cool summer and a late harvest leading to some high-quality wines. Inland irrigated regions benefited most obviously from this prolonged growing season.
2001
A vintage that rewarded the quality-conscious. A usefully wet start to the growing season was followed by prolonged very hot, dry weather, broken by rain just before harvest in March. Some grapes suffered sunburn but lower-yielding vineyards produced true quality.
