Summary of Vintages

2009-10: The winter was yet again dry, with the first half of September very warm. This set the vines up for an early budburst that stalled on the 20th of September, when the weather suddenly turned very cool. This period was accompanied by a good rain fall that partially filled our dams. Budburst was uneven, and slow, such that by the 10th of October, the vines were still only showing a couple of leaves each. October vasilated between warm and cold, but more rain fell, and the vines were off to a good start. November was insanely hot -more like January, than November, and quite dry, and we irrigated several times to ensure that the vines continued to develop properly. Flowering occurred in mid November, two weeks early, with an appropriate amount of fruit set by the end of the month. December brought warm (but more typical) temperatures, and 70mm of welcome gentle rain on Christmas and Boxing day. This rain left the vines in good shape to weather the hottest average temps a Canberra January has ever seen. It wasn't all bad, because, although the average was high, the temperatures stayed below 37C, and the hot days were relatively still. Veraison reached its mid point on 31 January, with a moderate crop ripening very evenly across the vineyard, February started with warmish days, and unusually warm nights, accompanied by humidity. We had 15mm of desperately needed rain on the 6th, followed up with a huge 130mm spread over the 11th-15th. This was the biggest dump since 2002, and it filled our nearly empty dams, and appears not to have caused any fruit splitting in the vineyard.

2008-9: The winter once again was quite dry with less than 100mm of rain falling from May-August, but this year it at least remained cool, with snow falling a couple of times. Some rain (40mm) fell in September, and budburst started on the 1st of October, a typical date. October was consistently warm, but moderate, and saw 30mm of rain - better than nothing, but well down on the 65mm norm. The vineyard though had enough moisture to see it through to November and December, where the warm, moderate weather persisted, but with nearly 200mm of rain falling. This rain caused an uneven flowering, but more importantly, filled the dams, and gave the wines the boost in growth they needed during this critical time. The weather remained moderate, although still on the warm side, through the end of January, with another 65mm of rain falling in a few intense thunderstorms. Veraison was in full swing by the 1st of February, where we saw an intense hot period (we had 4 days between 35-38C, but nothing like the string of 40 degree days experienced in South Australia and Victoria). Fortunately, the vines still had lots of water reserves and made it through this early hot spell in good shape to enjoy a full 7 weeks of hang-time, post Veraison, with the weather remaining mild and dry through-out the ripening period. We picked 3.5 tonnes of picture perfect fruit from vineyard on March 21st, with good Acid (7.5 g/l), good sugar levels (13.7 Baume), and great flavours. After 10 months in barrel, the 2009s are still deeply coloured with very fine tannins, beautiful palates and complex aromas. I cannot wait for these wines to be ready to drink. Veraison 1 Feb, Vintage 21 March.

2007-8: After the very hot and drought affected vintage of 2007, we were glad to see a 100mm of rain in June. But as in the year before, the rain dried up, with essentially no rain from July through the end of October. It was not as hot they year before, and budburst occurred on September 29th, approximately a week early. October was particularly warm - with extremely warm nights, and normal daytime temperatures, and this pushed the vines along. Starting at the end of October, wet mild condtions were prevalent through mid December. This mild and wet period lead to an explosion of growth in the vineyard which was tamed by two weeks of hot weather in early January. The second half of January, through early March were very mild, with no temperatures recorded over 28 degrees in the vineyard, but also dry. Veraison was very early, around the 20th of January, and we picked 3 tonnes of healthy grapes on the 8th of March - our earliest ever vintage. Our wines were bottled after 22 months in barrel, with 3 barrels selected for Maipenrai (70 cases), and the remainder bottled under the Amungula Creek label. Our 2008s are silky, spicy, and somewhat lighter bodied than the 2005 and 2006 wines. They will be released after a year in bottle. Veraison 25 Jan, Vintage 8 March. (Mean Temp during ripening 18.2C)

2006-7: After a dry end to 2006, we got nearly 100mm of rain in June -a good start to the year. But then the rain dried up with almost no rain in July through October. Furthermore, the weather was freakishly warm, and this lead first to an early budburst, and then rapid growth of the vines through October. By the beginning of November, the vines were 6 weeks ahead of a normal year, with flowering already commencing. A bit of rain in the middle November (30mm) kept things ticking along, but this was subsequently followed with the hottest driest weather Canberra has ever seen. So although our vineyard was spared the frost, hail and grasshopper damage that other district vineyards endured this year, the drought took its toll on the vineyard, with us running out of water for irrigation by mid-January. We picked a tiny crop of grapes on the 22nd of March, and this has produced three barrels of pleasant, but relatively light Pinot, which have been bottled under the Amungula Creek Label. Veraison 20 January, Vintage 22 March.bu(Mean Temp during ripening 20.6C)t shoud

2005-6: A good winter of rain after another extremely dry autumn got this years vintage off to a good start. Spring was typically cool, and budburst occured in the first week of October. With continuing good rains, the vines showed vigour not experienced in the past few years, and got off to a terrific start. A very warm November was accompanied by a significant amount of rain, and things remained adequately moist through December. Things really began to heat up in mid-December, with a 38 degree on New Years day (that is as hot as it gets here folks). A few thunderstorms kept moisture in the ground, but unfortunately, two of these thunderstorms contained significant amounts of hail. The first storm on the 11th of January, did minor damage, but a second one, on the 23rd of January removed a large fraction of the leaves on the Eastern side of rows, as well as destroying all of the fruit on that side. The vineyard recovered, but the we lost a large fraction of the crop. Fortunately the damage was done before veraison, and so the grapes simply dried up and disappeared. February and March remained hot, but there was essentially no more rain after the damaging hail storm. In the end, 2006 is, along with 1983 and 1998, one of the hottest years on record in the Canberra District. Although hot by Canberra standards, the total heat summation for Maipenrai was about 1500 degree days - about the same as the Adelaide Hills in a typical year. We picked a tiny crop of 1.3 tonnes from our vineyard on March 25th, which has produced a lovely wine which emphasizes the silky and complex features of Pinot Noir over the big and brawny aspects. Veraison 7 Feb, Vintage 25 March. (Mean Temp during ripening 19.5C)

2004-5: After a very warm July and August, it looked like the vines might get off to an early start, but a chilly September slowed the vines Sap, and budburst occurred in the 1st week of October. The drought of the autumn continued through winter until a large rainfall commencing on the 31st of August, and lasting two days. Normal rain fall continued through spring, giving the vines a good healthy start. Through the spring, the weather pattern was all over the place, with fortnightly variations far above and below the average temperature, with average nighttime temperature ending up a bit higher than the long term average. Starting in December, the rain became patchy, with large variations in rainfall between our District's vineyard, with rainfall once again drying up in February, leading to a very dry autumn. Also commencing towards the end of December was a trend towards consistently warmer than average conditions. These conditions pushed the vines along, with veraison taking place at Maipenrai in the first week of February. Disease free conditions persisted through the autumn, and we harvested our crop on March 27th, with the fruit at 12.5 Baume. This sugar level is somewhat lower than previous years, but was chosen because the fruit had reached full maturity, with nicely ripened seeds and stems, while retaining requisite natural acidity. Our crop levels were again very low, with a total of 1.5 tonnes taken of our 1 hectare vineyard. The fruit from the most developed parts of the vineyard were separated out for the Maipenrai wine, with the resulting wine showing a very dark purple colour reminiscent of a shiraz, intense fruit, and a lovely natural acidity. Aged in Oak for 22-months, the 2005 Maipenrai Pinot Noir features a firm palate of fine tannins. The wine is nicely delineated by acid and has a structure that will serve it well as it ages. Veraison 8 Feb, Vintage 27 March. (Mean Temp during ripening 17.8C)

2003-4: Finally a normal winter whose rains replenished our dams and left some moisture in the soil. A warmer than average August and September got the vines ready for an early start. By the 15th of September, budburst looked imminent, but then a three week cold snap cooled things down, stopping the swelling buds in their tracks. Budburst finally commenced on the 8th of October, about a week later than normal. A few snowflakes were seen on October 11th, and a series of intense squally storms kept things moist through mid October. The end of October saw the temperatures rapidly rise, with an unusually warm period (with no rain) lasting through November 20th, burning off the grass. The rain returned again with 75mm of rain falling over the 21st-23rd of November, and a return to cool temperatures. Starting in December, things rapidly heated and dried up. Flowering finished at our vineyard by the 20th of December, and a warm, dry January speed the grapes along to veraison, which reached its midpoint on February 8th. February was among the hottest on record, and the dry weather of December and January continued for the rest of the season - less than 20mm of rain fell on Maipenrai from February through to May. Due to the extreme stress, the vines essentially shutdown at the time of veraison (we irrigated with the little water we had to keep the leaves on the vines) for a few weeks, before getting their legs back in March, at which time they once again made serious inroads at ripening their fruit. This pattern meant, despite the very warm year, that we picked our fruit on April 4th, with the last 4 weeks of ripening in relatively cool weather - perfect for Pinot Noir. Picked at 13 Baume, our fruit had tiny berries, and at measily 1 tonne per acre, our vineyard appears to have produced a nice wine in 2004. Veraison 8 Feb, Vintage 4 April. (Mean Temp during ripening 18.9C)

2002-3: A very dry winter left the soil dry, and our dams less than full. Spring started early with warm weather commencing the first week of September, with budburst 10 days earlier than normal - approximately September 25th at Maipenrai. A bit of rain around budburst (30mm) was followed by essentially no rain in October and November, with the only relief, a welcome 17mm at the beginning of December. Although I am not a fan of irrigation, the incredibly dry and very warm weather through the growing season meant that regular irrigation was the only way to keep leaves on the vines. As an experiment, I didn't water a row of plants (Merlot, which I planned to remove anyways). These plants lost all of their leaves in February, with all of their fruit drying up and falling off before veraison. My other vines got a very small amount of water (approximately 250litres each over the course of the year), but this was enough to keep their leaves and fruit on. Veraison commenced approximately 20th of January - 3 weeks earlier than normal - and finished two weeks later. This extended period is less than ideal and was caused by the varying level of stress each plant was under. The weather finally cooled down to a relative normal year in early February, and the grapes, therefore, enjoyed Canberra's typically cool ripening conditions. We picked our grapes on March 10th, a month earlier than usual, with yields off our severely stressed young vines absurdly low - (0.3 tonnes per acre). The resulting wine is intensely coloured, with considerable weight, a firm tannin structure, and remarkably high quality given the warm growing conditions. In addition we obtained fruit from two other Canberra District vineyards, and they show a similarly dark colouring, with each vineyard having its own tannin structure. Veraison 20 Jan, Vintage March 10th. (Mean Temp during ripening 20.1C)

2001-2: A slightly dry winter left our vineyards with an adequate supply of water in our dams, but with less than optimal soil moisture. The growing season got off to an early start with an unseasonably warm September. Budburst commenced around September 30th, with spring and early summer unusually dry - we received almost no rain in October, November and December. The dry weather was not accompanied with much heat, but the October-December period was the 2nd windiest quarter on record putting the vineyards under significant moisture stress. The dry weather continued through January - we received less than 20mm of rain. By the end of January, the 2001/2002 growing season was considered the driest in more than 20 years; but this pronouncement did not last for long. The drought ended in a flood of rain commencing February 2nd, with more than 140mm of rain received by February 6th, saturating the ground and filling the dams. Given the dry conditions, this rain was thought to be the coupe de grace for the vintage, but it had exactly the opposite effect. Rather than splitting the grapes and and allowing disease to spread, the drought plagued vines, suddenly burst into life, with the small crop of thick skinned berries achieving very high ripeness in cool conditions. This unusual set of weather conditions produced some of the most concentrated wines Canberra has ever produced - in marked contrast to most Australian regions which struggled with the conditions. This was Maipenrai's first crop, and our young vines and those from a nearby vineyard produced a lovely, silkily textured light-bodied pinot noir of relatively low acidity. Veraison 14 Feb, Vintage 4 April (Mean Temp during ripening 17.2C).