Mudgee’s Stein Wines has completed an unusually early and compact harvest, reporting excellent quality across both white and red varieties despite yields down between 20 and 40 per cent following one of the hottest and driest growing seasons in recent memory.
Good winter rain gave the vines a strong start to the season, with spring bringing close to average temperatures and slightly drier conditions that allowed the team to focus on nutrition and canopy management. But the dry pattern intensified as the season progressed.
“Spring finished very dry, with warmer than average temperatures, and that led straight into a very hot and dry summer,” said Jacob Stein, Owner and Winemaker at Stein Wines. “Normally we can cope with a drier summer, but this one was abnormally hot and dry, and irrigation and nutrition became essential. That hot, dry stretch ran right through summer, into harvest and through the whole of autumn.”
Growers with adequate water access and irrigation infrastructure fared well through the dry conditions, while sunscreen application across many blocks helped reduce stress on the fruit and the resulting wines.
“Summer into autumn was all about irrigation. Those of us with enough water and the right infrastructure had good success, and we used sunscreen across many of our blocks, which was positive in reducing stress on the fruit and on the wines that came from it,” Jacob said.
Dry, windy conditions through October and into early November coincided with flowering, significantly reducing crop levels for the season. Final yields came in 20 to 30 per cent down across varieties and vineyard sites.
Harvest began in Mudgee around a week earlier than usual, with early sparkling varieties picked in late January. The bulk of the fruit was then brought in over the following six weeks, a much faster turnaround than the region’s typical eight to twelve week vintage.
“This was a very compressed vintage for us. The majority of our fruit came off within about six weeks, which is highly unusual for Mudgee, where we’d normally expect a vintage to run eight to twelve weeks.”
On quality, Jacob said the early aromatic whites had performed particularly well.
“Our early and aromatic whites, things like Riesling and Gewürztraminer, along with Italian whites such as Vermentino, are all excellent quality, with beautiful natural acidity and a perfect balance of bright, fruity character. Chardonnay and our other white varieties came in in excellent condition too, and have produced some great wines with good concentration,” he said.
The reds have also impressed, despite the lower yields driven by the hot, dry conditions.
“All of our red varieties are great to excellent quality this year, though yields are generally 20 to 40 per cent down. Shiraz has been a standout, and the Italian varieties, Montepulciano and Barbera, really excelled. The best red batches have deep purple colour with beautiful tannin and fruit balance. The wines are healthy, they’re behaving well, and the ones that have come through malolactic fermentation early are already showing great promise. We’re really excited about some of our batches this year,” Mr Stein said.
Summing up the vintage, Jacob said the result was a trade-off between quality and quantity that paid off for those who could manage it.
“In summary, this has been an excellent harvest: high quality, but low yields. Being able to irrigate adequately was the key to success this year, to keep the vines happy and free of stress.”