Riesling provided some of the highlights of the vintage, with Penfolds Eden Valley Reserve Riesling one of the stars and even better than the 2000. The reds are the best for several years, with both cabernet sauvignon and shiraz doing well, so Tollana drinkers will find their usual quality from the 2001 vintage for TR222 and TR16.

Clare Valley
For the first time in three years, the Clare Valley began spring with good soil moisture and full dams. Good early growth led to large canopies and, while in some vineyards these helped protect the fruit from the summer heat, in many they were a drain on soil moisture.

Clare Valley had the worst of the climate extremes with scorching heat that led to loss of leaf cover and sunburn, then rain, then a return to 40°C plus temperatures. Although April weather was excellent the earlier vintage conditions effected aromatic varieties resulting in wines with big ripe flavours rather like the 1997’s which will drink well early. Riesling has formed the backbone of the new, flavoursome Diamond Label Riesling for Rosemount.

Adelaide
The Penfolds Magill Vineyard experienced a season similar to McLaren Vale, just to the south. However, the crop ripened early and came in excellent condition before the March rain. The 2001 Penfolds Magill Estate wine has rich flavour and the spicy fruit typical of the vineyard.

Adelaide Hills
The early season was excellent, with good growth, and flowering was successful for all varieties except cabernet sauvignon and merlot. Vine development in the Hills is later than in the warmer, lower altitude areas and the January heat affected the vines less. Also, the March rains arrived at a less critical time.

The best chardonnay wines are very good indeed, with flavour and elegance. The reds are some of the best since the 1993 vintage, but only where the vineyards did not over-crop.

“If you made ordinary reds this year, you have a problem with your vineyard management,” said Southcorp Red Winemaker Peter Taylor.  The Adelaide Hills produced some of the best pinots of this tricky vintage, and there will again be some delicious Penfolds Pinot Noirs at the Magill Estate Restaurant and Cellar Door.

Riverland
A beautiful spring led to flourishing growth throughout the Murray River basin. When the assault of the January heat arrived, it was those vineyard managers who were able to maintain water supply to the vines who generally saw a better outcome. February rain somewhat disrupted the picking.
The whites are rather like the 1998’s, the product of another hot vintage, with high alcohol levels and big, broad flavours. The best parcels will combine well with fruit from cooler regions in Rosemount Diamond Label Chardonnay and Lindemans Bin 65 Chardonnay.

With reds, it was again the vines that carried moderate crops which performed well. There are some very good shiraz wines which are making an important contribution to Lindemans Bin 50, Rosemount Diamond Label, and Queen Adelaide, but cabernet sauvignon vines were knocked around by the January heatwave and are less impressive.

McLaren Vale
McLaren Vale had a wet winter and the rain, which continued into spring, promoted strong growth in the vines. Good November weather provided perfect conditions for flowering and even the temperamental cabernet sauvignon set well. McLaren Vale had its hottest summer since 1905, with a mean maximum temperature of 31.2°C. The January heat affected most vineyards, in particular young vines and those on sandy soil and, in spite of the good set, many average crops were brought in.

The white varieties ripened quickly and there was some sunburn in whites. Sauvignon blanc was affected, but semillon fared much better. Rosemount Winemaker Charles Whish reports that at Ryecroft chardonnay is the pick, with “wonderful peachy flavours that have developed well on lees.”

Unlike some other varieties Grenache thrives in heat and Charles said the variety was “the best for three years, so Rosemount GSM will be great.” It was also a strong year for shiraz, so there will be a characteristically rich Rosemount Balmoral and Rosemount Show Reserve.

Langhorne Creek
After good winter rains, spring was dry and cool and the vines put on vigorous growth. The abundant leaf cover helped vines protect their fruit and avoid sunburn in the searing summer heat. The whites were overall of good quality. Shiraz was the standout red wine, with the Rosemount Vineyard producing some very good shiraz for Diamond Label.

Padthaway
The season started very well, with good soil moisture levels, and growth was strong. However, it soon became a year to sort out the better sites with good management from the rest. Cropping levels were the critical factor, as vineyards that restricted yield and reduced irrigation in December performed best.

This was an outstanding vintage for whites. Chardonnay on Southcorp’s own vineyards responded brilliantly when yields were controlled. “Absolutely fabulous!” said Winemaker Phillip Shaw. “Some of the best chardonnay I’ve ever seen from Padthaway and consistent across the blocks.”

With reds, time of ripening told the story. The vines with moderate yields ripened their fruit beautifully, and produced excellent cabernet sauvignon and shiraz. “Padthaway was excellent across the board for Penfolds,” said John Duval, “from St Henri and Bin 389 right the way down.” Lindemans Padthaway Cabernet Merlot and Shiraz will also show the great quality of Padthaway when they’re released.

Coonawarra
Good winter rains gave Coonawarra a very good start to the season. Fruit set was excellent across all varieties, and careful vineyard management including “green harvesting” to remove heavy crops aided in controlling yields. March rainfall delayed the harvest, but April and May were fine and mild and the fruit was picked in good condition.

Whites have good flavours, but are perhaps lacking intensity. The reds fared well, particularly off the lower-cropped vineyards, with some excellent, fleshy wines at the top end. Others achieved good colours and tannin levels, with lighter flavour and body.

Sue Hodder from Wynns Coonawarra Estate says that shiraz fortunately developed ripe, fragrant characters earlier in ripening than usual. She said, “Cabernet sauvignon is soft and varietal with ripe berry flavours. We have some interesting and complex parcels of fruit in reserve for both Michael Shiraz and John Riddoch Cabernet Sauvignon.” 

Paul Gordon is enthusiastic about the Lindemans wines. “Cabernet is quite strong. We have the largest potential make of Lindemans St George for several years and plenty of Lindemans Pyrus. I think the St George is like the ‘94, (another great year in Coonawarra).” Limestone Ridge has some very good parcels of shiraz, but the quantity is less than usual. The heat affected pinot noir vines, but careful selection found pinot that shows balance and finesse for inclusion in Rosemount Diamond Label Pinot Noir.

Robe
As with the rest of the Limestone Coast, Robe saw a good start in spring. Canopies and cropping levels were maintained in good balance and, as a further bonus, Robe avoided the worst of the January heat, thanks to its maritime position.

The result was some well structured and highly coloured shiraz, cabernet sauvignon and merlot. Shiraz was particularly strong, with the ripe, peppery flavours characteristic of the region, and will be an important contributor to many of the Penfolds premium bin reds. White varieties such as Chardonnay are attractive, but show less intensity than previous years.

New South Wales

Hunter Valley
Spring rain was very good - indeed the Hunter River was in flood during November and there was very strong vine growth early on, rather too vigorous in some vineyards. A very hot spell in January brought ripening forward and vintage was the earliest for many years.

Picking started in very good weather and early varieties were excellent, particularly semillon and chardonnay. The semillons are classic, with ripe lemony flavours and none of the grassy, sauvignon blanc-like characters of some 2000 wines. Shiraz was uneven and there will be no reserve wines this year, although Lindemans has an attractive parcel for the Hunter River Shiraz.

The Upper Hunter also had a very good growing season, and escaped most of the vintage rain resulting in a more consistent result. Semillons are, again, very good. With chardonnays, Rosemount’s Andrew Koerner reports that the Giants Creek Vineyard was exceptional, so Rosemount’s Show Reserve Chardonnay is superb. There are some very good parcels from the Roxburgh Vineyard as well.

Mudgee
2001 brought Mudgee the third difficult vintage in a row. The area received quite heavy spring rains, which waterlogged some lower lying vineyards. Early summer and then vintage rains led to difficulties in some vineyards, which had to be picked before full ripeness.

Whites are attractive, and chardonnay is probably the best, with good, delicate flavours. Vineyards that were well managed and ripened early did well, and Rosemount has some excellent shiraz for Mountain Blue. Andrew Koerner says that Hill of Gold has made a welcome return to the quality and volume of the 1999 vintage, particularly with shiraz, which is “soft and elegant.”

Orange
Winter and spring rains maintained soil moistures at high levels in Orange, encouraging very vigorous growth. The main challenge was to contain the canopies and crop levels in some vineyards. Most vineyards handled the hot January well, but scattered rain during the harvest led to uneven results, with some varieties being picked early to avoid disease.

Chardonnays are good, if a little lighter in weight than previous years, and Rosemount’s Orange Vineyard Chardonnay is very strong. Amongst the reds, merlot was excellent and there are some good parcels of peppery shiraz, so the Orange Vineyard Merlot and Shiraz will be worth waiting for. However cabernet sauvignon was less even.

Cowra
Like the rest of inland New South Wales, Cowra had a wet winter and spring, but summer was largely fine and the harvest began before the more significant autumn rains. There will be typically full-flavoured Chardonnay, and some parcels of red wine showed more promise than in recent years.

Tumbarumba
No region in the eastern states entirely escaped the effects of the January heat, but Tumbarumba, in the cool of the Snowy Mountains foothills, managed better than most. Brief rain in January helped freshen the vines well. The season had started with good winter and spring rain and there was warm weather to encourage a good fruit set.

Some very good pinot noir and chardonnay was harvested for sparkling base and chardonnay ripened further to make excellent wine that is destined for Penfolds highly prized Yattarna.

Victoria

Great Western and Pyrenees
The region had good winter and spring rains, and mild November weather promoted a good flowering and fruit set. Frost caused damage to small patches of vineyard, mostly shiraz. The summer was dry and the hot weather in January and February produced some stress in younger vineyards.

White wines were of good quality, as was shiraz. “Seppelt’s Great Western Vineyard Shiraz is pretty good,” said Seppelt winemaker Paul Lapsley.  “It has great blackberry and raspberry flavours, somewhere between the ‘98 and ‘97 in style. And as grower vineyards are getting older, we’ve seen some strong examples of shiraz for Seppelt Chalambar.”

Yarra Valley
Recent vintages in the Yarra have brought either drought or flood and this year the pattern continued. The season started well, with good winter rains and soil moisture levels and by the end of spring, canopies were balanced and flowering produced a good berry-set. But from November, conditions became very dry and heat increased through January until about halfway through the ripening period.

Once again, Coldstream Hill’s own vineyards survived the conditions better than most growers. The early fruit from lower cropping vineyards came in well, but rain arrived in March to hamper the slower ripening blocks. “The Bordeaux reds performed better than the others,” said Coldstream Hills winemaker Andrew Fleming, “and merlot came through with spectacular results.”

Overall, the whites were less exciting, although the Coldstream Hills Sauvignon Blanc was an exception, proving to be the best sauvignon this year across all regions. There was good chardonnay from Coldstream Hills’ own vineyards, which is earmarked for a small make of Coldstream Hills Reserve Chardonnay. Pinot noir suffered in the heat and shows big, riper fruit characters this year. There will be no Coldstream Hills Reserve Pinot Noir this year.

Mornington Peninsula
Mornington experienced the same good start to the season as the Yarra Valley. Although vineyards could not escape the January heat wave, the humid air in this maritime region helped the vines by reducing moisture stress and lower cropped vineyards were able to ripen fruit before the rains arrived in March. The result was some good parcels of pinot noir, chardonnay and pinot gris.

Strathbogie Ranges
The summer was more favourable than in many other areas. The vineyards saw less heat in January and avoided the critical March rains. Both whites and reds were very good, in particular riesling, but some cabernet sauvignon was over-cropped and lacked strength.

Drumborg
Most of the growing season went very well, with good soil moisture to start, and a warm dry period during flowering led to good berry-set. Late in spring the weather turned very dry and January produced some of the hottest days ever recorded at the vineyard.

The fruit intensity of riesling and sauvignon blanc suffered in the heat. Pinot noir was also affected, and there will be no Drumborg Vineyard Pinot Noir or Drumborg Cabernet for Seppelt this year but there will be a good quantity of pinot for Seppelt Sunday Creek.

Rutherglen
Overall, Rutherglen had a very good season. This started with good soil moisture, which led to strong vine canopies. Flowering and berry set were very good and bunch thinning of many vineyards became necessary. Rain in early January was initially thought to be of concern for the whites, but this cleared up before damage was done.

The reds are of fair quality, but the heat affected colour and depth of flavour and some vines still overcropped. However, good weather late in the season led to some good fortifieds. Tokay was the star, according to Company Fortified Winemaker James Godfrey, while the muscats, like most aromatic varieties, lost fruit during the heat.

Sunraysia
Like the Riverland vineyards further down the Murray, Sunraysia had a wonderful start to the season, with very good vine growth in the warm spring. While January was hot, as elsewhere, Sunraysia vineyards handled the heat surprisingly well, even the peak temperatures around 47°C, although the vintage became very compressed. Fortunately, there was no rain to speak of during the harvest.

Whites generally did better than reds. Semillon from the Lake Cullulleraine Vineyard is again excellent and will add great quality to several Semillon Chardonnay blends. It is pleasing, and rare, to see a vineyard continually producing such quality at low cost. Red varieties matured early, and tended to show ripe, jammy flavours. Southcorp Wines vineyards set up for irrigation on demand tended to perform better than others.

Western Australia

Margaret River
After a typically wet winter, Margaret River’s weather dried up quickly and low spring rainfall led to a small berry size, a major factor in the quality that red wines were to show. The January to April period was the driest on record, although the region largely missed the summer heat experienced in the eastern states. In the dry conditions, sugar levels rose like a freight train, with flavours in a back carriage and tannins still at the siding. A cool change in early March allowed the flavours and tannins to catch up.

Stuart Pym at Devil’s Lair describes 2001 as an “excellent red year, with strong structures and great intensity,” likening the wines to the ‘99s and ‘95s. Expect a good quantity of high quality Devil’s Lair Margaret River Cabernet Sauvignon.