Louis Latour Agencies

Clare Valley Australia, Vintage 2016

12 March 2016

Vintage is well under way at Wakefield Wine’s Clare Valley property and we've been receiving regular updates from the team. It’s been a hot, dry year but grape quality is high and at the beginning of March almost fifty percent of the grapes had been harvested.

Late November saw the start of a mini heatwave and temperatures entered the 40s with a series of fires breaking out south of the Clare Valley. Despite high temperatures the Taylor family’s vineyards continued to grow well, helped by careful monitoring of moisture levels with probes that allow the team to conserve and use water judiciously.

December was another hot, dry month, which reduced yields but did not damaged the fruit. The vineyards received a little light rain in early January but not enough to make a difference to levels in the dams. In late January, the first fruit from contract growers, including Chardonnay for sparkling wine and Promised Land from Riverland. This is very early, normally this fruit would be expected in the first week of February.

Between 29th and 31st January 35mm of rain fell courtesy of cyclone Stan which brought some windy, unsettled weather. This caused a little concern as berry ripening was quite advanced but after inspection only minor splitting found in Riesling and Semillon grapes. This was not a problem since harvest was so close. At this early stage the grape quality was high.

The still wine harvest began on the estate with St Andrews Chardonnay on the 2nd February. The first red arrived in the winery on the 10th February in the shape of Tempranillo from a grower in McLaren Vale. The Pinot Gris and Riesling harvest began a few days later. By the 21st February Wakefield had harvested around 23% of their Estate fruit, a similar level to the 2008 vintage although yield are higher in 2016.

On the 22nd February the first Merlot was harvested, followed by Semillon. Shiraz grapes continued to arrive at the winery, this time from the St Andrews vineyard and Lodden Block. As of the 28th February most of the white varieties had been harvested with attention turning to reds. The red fermenters in the winery where nearing capacity and the cellar team were working round the clock to keep up with intake.)

The first week of March brought relatively humid conditions with temperatures sitting above 35 ° C for most of the week with storms arriving at the weekend. Only 13mm of rain fell over the weekend and despite the humidity there have been no problems with mould or mildew in the vineyards. The vineyard team are very happy with the quality of the fruit that has been harvested to date.

As of Sunday 6th March approximately 41% of the blocks on the estate have been harvested. The harvest for later ripening Cabernet blocks has only just started and as always Carmenere will most likely be the last variety to be harvested. In a Wakefield Wines first a new variety arrived at the cellars this week – Fiano - which will be made in small quantities and released exclusively through the cellar door.