Vintage Reports:

2003 Australian Vintage Report
2002 Australian Vintage Report
2001 Australian Vintage Report
2000 Australian Vintage Report
1999 Australian Vintage Report
1998 Australian Vintage Report
1997 Australian Vintage Report
1996 Australian Vintage Report
1995 Australian Vintage Report

1996 Australian Vintage Report

Rarely has there been such a topsy-turvy growing season as the recent one leading to the 1996 vintage. Over the winter of 1995, the prolonged drought appeared to have broken, before dry conditions again set in in many regions; the season started unusually early, with warm August weather and finished late, after one of the coldest summers on record, in nail-biting anxiety over whether many vineyards would even ripen their crops; budburst was accompanied by what seemed at the time to be catastrophic frosts, yet the harvest delivered a record crop of high quality grapes.

Significant rainfall had been received across the south of the continent in March and April 1995 and a wetter weather pattern extended across all the major regions during autumn, with the exception of the Hunter Valley. June rainfall registrations were broadly on average, while July brought well above average and, in some cases, record falls to many regions. June frosts ensured complete leaf drop and an earlier dormancy than in other recent winters.

The August value of the Southern Oscillation Index was zero, an increase over the consistently negative values over the past year. Negative values of this index indicate a high probability of drought in Australia, so the increase was very welcome, suggesting a return to normal climatic conditions after the drought sequence of recent years.

But after such a wet autumn and early winter, August was unusually mild and dry and brought on an early start to the season, with budburst two to three weeks ahead of normal in almost all areas. Vineyard managers' worst fears were realised on the nights of 6th and 7th September, when a widespread temperature inversion brought damaging frosts to inland areas of New South Wales, South Australia and Victoria. The magnitude and widespread nature of this event was such that normal frost prevention methods, such as fans and overhead sprinklers, were unable to counter its effects. In spite of the precocious budburst, the timing of the frost was such that only the early varieties were affected, principally chardonnay, colombard, sultana and pinot noir. Although most other premium varieties had not yet shot, there were initially concerns, so severe had the frost been, that unopened buds might also have been affected.

As the season evolved, however, it became clear that the damage was less than at first thought. Growth of secondary buds was mostly good and losses in the frost-affected were largely overcome by a good growing season. Vineyard managers also reported that blocks affected by restricted spring growth the previous year had largely recovered.

Apart from that single frost event, seasonal conditions in the spring were mild and close to ideal, although there was a return to a drier weather pattern in most areas. The exceptions were the regions to the east of Melbourne, including the Yarra Valley and Mornington Peninsula, which had a very wet spring and summer.

A cool summer greatly slowed growth and ended expectations of an early vintage. On the contrary, vineyard managers found they had to sit out the cooler weather and delay the harvest, hoping for more warmth and higher sugar levels. In most regions their luck held out.

Disease pressure during the season was generally low, with the exception of the south of Victoria and parts of New South Wales, although numbers of light brown apple moth were high in most districts and needed close monitoring and, in many cases, spraying. (The moth's caterpillars, if unchecked, can cause damage to grape bunches and, in damp weather, lead to bunch rot).

The Winemakers Federation of Australia has reported a national crop of 885,000 tonnes, of which 496,000t were of premium varieties. This was a considerable increase on the drought-affected 1995 crush of 635,680t and the previous record of 753,410t in 1994. The size of the crush has surprised the industry, which was expecting about 830,000 tonnes. The reason for the unexpected increase was a large crush of non-premium, multi-purpose white varieties, principally sultana. Yields for premium varieties were broadly on average, except for the few vineyards badly affected by frost, poor weather at flowering or rain at harvest. The increase in premium grape intake broadly reflected the 1600ha of new vineyards coming on stream this year. Most of the largesse from this record vintage is therefore of neutral dry white which will need to be cleared to empty the tanks for the still larger vintage expected in 1997.

New South Wales

Hunter Valley
The Hunter had its best start to the growing season for several years. Although winter and early spring had been very dry, and early September unseasonally hot, good rainfall was received in October, which was well timed and allowed flowering and fruit set to proceed well. Scattered rainfall continued from November until late January, raising the spectre of downy mildew and bunch rot. Vintage started in late January in cool, damp weather, although dry, hot days a short time later cleared up the early outbreaks of disease and speeded ripening. Fine weather throughout most of February saw a slightly below average yield of good quality grapes delivered. Sugar levels were satisfactory, although the cool summer and early onset of autumn conditions in the vineyards prevented high baumes being achieved.

This was a good year for both whites and reds. Pat Auld from Lindemans is particularly pleased with his shiraz. "They're the best reds since 1991 - soft, with excellent peppery shiraz characters and medium alcohol. There's no Reserve Shiraz, but we've got a good Reserve Semillon". The semillons do not have quite the intensity of the 1995s (an outstanding year) although they have good fruit and should be excellent with bottle-age. The chardonnays are mixed - the riper ones good, but some lacking depth and richness.

Jay Tulloch reports some very good shiraz for Tulloch's Hector.

Central west
The growing season in Young, Cowra and Mudgee was a cool one. Spring frosts and hail caused severe, but localised vineyard damage, although the crop size overall came in slightly above average. Vintage was later than normal, but there was no difficulty getting sufficient ripeness.

"The reds are very exciting," said Ian Walsh of Hungerford Hill. "The cabernet from Young is the outstanding one, but we have a small parcel of excellent shiraz, too. Cowra has made some big whites, although our chardonnay's not quite as rich as the 1995". Cowra has made some good reds, too, an unusual occurrence, as they often don't perform well in this area.

Barooga
Spring conditions were close to ideal, with no major viticultural concerns reported, although above average December and January rainfall later caused some concern. The Tarn Pirr Vineyard at Barooga produced a record crop, 80% of this chardonnay of very good quality. The small quantity of red wine produced, however, did appear to suffer from the high cropping and lacked richness and flavour.

Alpine
Winter in the Snowy Mountains was very wet and cold, and July brought snow to Tumbarumba on several occasions. Frosts, snowfalls and wet weather continued through the spring and frequent spraying was necessary to keep disease at bay. November and December saw a continuation of the cold, wet weather and flowering finished towards the end of December with a generally disappointing set. January continued damp, although somewhat warmer, creating some risk of downy mildew and botrytis, but this was kept under control. The low crops did at least enable all fruit to ripen to the required baumes.

Pinot noir produced excellent sparkling base wines and Ian McKenzie is delighted with the material he has for Salinger, Fleur de Lys and Harpers Range Brut. He also has a very good parcel of pinot table wine. Merlot also performed well, but chardonnay was more patchy and cabernet sauvignon suffered from an autumn frost and shows some herbaceous characters. Hungerford Hill's sauvignon blanc is excellent and a great follow-up to the 1995. The first table wine from pinot gris produced unaccountably disappointing results.

Riverina
In spite of damage in the September frosts and localised hail storms, the Riverina produced a record crop of grapes in 1996. The growing season was cool and dry, with very few disease problems, and the fruit was delivered in good condition. A trend towards harvesting at higher maturity is paying dividends with quality in the region. "Everything came together well," said Yenda winemaker Colin Goad. "The whites were particularly good - semillon and chardonnay - and ruby cabernet performed well, too." This quality will have a positive effect on both the flavour and quantity of some of the export wines, which were so short in supply after the small 1995 vintage.

South Australia

Barossa Valley
Following a wet autumn in the Barossa, June and July rainfall was also well above average. However, August and September were very dry and mild, provoking an early start to the growing season, as in most other areas. Runoff was generally insufficient to restore water storage to full levels. Luckily the Barossa and other northern areas of South Australia escaped the frosts which hit the more inland areas of the continent early in the month. Spring rainfall continued below average, although conditions otherwise were almost ideal, with reasonable soil moisture and mild temperatures. Weather during flowering was fine and a good berry-set reported.

As in 1995, the 'broad' varieties performed much better than the aromatics, with riesling again rather ordinary. "We've got some great semillon from the valley floor and Williamstown", said John Duval, ã so the Penfolds Old Vines Semillon will be very good. Chardonnay's good, too, but the reds are the real highlight. Shiraz is excellent, both quality and quantity, so we have great volumes of the super-premium Penfolds reds. We've made a couple of special bin Penfolds reds, a Barossa Shiraz and a cabernet off the Golf Course block at Kalimna in its centenary year. Grenache is great, too, and it really shows in the Old Vines blend this year". Ian McKenzie is also enthusing about cabernet, describing Seppelt Dorrien Cabernet as "one of the best". There's a large quantity, too.

Seppelt's James Godfrey describes his shiraz fortifieds this year as "brilliant", although the grenache from the Seppeltsfield vineyards was disappointing, the impact of three successive dry years on this dry-grown vineyard.

Eden Valley
July rainfall was the highest yet recorded at Tollana's Woodbury vineyard, taking dams to almost 100% full - a welcome change from the muddy puddles of the previous year. In contrast to its neighbour, the Barossa, good rainfall continued through early spring before a cool, relatively dry summer, which set Eden Valley up with very good prospects. Flowering was successful and not affected by the windy weather that often causes problems in the region.

The cool conditions delayed ripening and produced a good, if inconsistent result. Chardonnay and cabernet are good, the latter showing more intensity than shiraz, while sauvignon blanc and riesling are disappointing. "The rieslings are too broad and short for the Buring style," said Geoff Henriks from Leo Buring, ãso there's no Leonay this year, from Eden Valley or Clare." Neville Falkenberg from Tollana had mixed feelings. "No, the riesling wasn't all that flash - it didn't have the fruit and delicacy - so we decided not to bottle one. There won't be a sauvignon blanc or semillon either. But the chardonnay's looking pretty good - it'll be an austere, long lived wine. And although '96 looks like a cabernet year, I think I prefer our shiraz. It's got real peppery and spicy fruit".

Adelaide Hills
The Hills had an uneven result, again a consequence of the cool, late season. The best and warmest sites produced good sugar levels and flavoursome chardonnay, pinot noir, cabernet and shiraz. But with the onset of showery weather in early April, some vineyards struggled to achieve full ripeness. Sauvignon blanc is again one of the disappointments and some semillon vineyards which carried large crops made rather light and herbaceous wine.

Adelaide
This area followed a similar pattern to Eden Valley, with excellent winter and spring rainfall and timely scattered falls throughout the summer. The Magill Estate Vineyard recorded the wettest July for 10 years. The spring and summer were cool, but expectations of a late vintage changed with a warm January and February. "At the last moment we had to bring vintage forward a week because of the warmth", said winemaker John Bird, "but it all turned out pretty good. We even made some Grange material - we deliberately set out to do it - so for the second year in a row there's Magill wine in Grange again. Magill Estate itself is very good - about 1990 or 1991 quality, I'd say".

Clare
The Valley had the wettest July since 1974, a welcome change from the previous drought-affected winter. The spring turned drier, with mild conditions leading to a rapid drying of soils and an early budburst, although Clare escaped the September frosts. Thereafter, the season continued cool, with rainfall right on the average of 233mm, and overall ideal.

Clare once again produced some of the best chardonnay of the year, with great intensity and style, and semillon is also very good. Geoff Henriks is pleased with his new Clare Chardonnay for Leo Buring. "We're really rapt in the wine," he said. "It was barrel-fermented, but bottled early to make a fresh, fruit-driven wine." Some varieties suffered from lack of water and leaf loss. As in Eden Valley, it wasn't riesling's year and the best rieslings didn't quite make the standard for Leonay. "We're rather ruthless selecting Leonay and the top two parcels were about half a point short. But together they make a very smart Clare Riesling for Buring which we'll be releasing in October".

The reds were uneven and a severe selection has resulted in a reduced quantity of Penfolds Clare Estate this year. Shiraz was good, but without any highlights. The Penfolds Organic Red, from lower vigour organic vineyards, was the best Clare red of the year.

McLaren Vale
After good autumn rains and a well above average July rainfall, the weather pattern changed, with August and September both dry and the October-April growing season yielding only 96mm against the long term mean of 206mm. The Vales missed the frost damage which hit the inland regions. Fortunately flowering was successful and overall crop levels held up well, although the more stressed sites had lower than average yields. The dry conditions and a warm spell in February brought on the early white varieties, although vintage still started late, on 19th February.

"A fantastic year" said Seaview's Mike Farmilo. "Shiraz was our best variety and we've made an Edwards and Chaffey Shiraz. Cabernet's good, too - typical McLaren Vale, with really dense colours and big, soft flavours. Chardonnay is very good. The only disappointment was sauvignon blanc. One block came in well, so we've got about 5000 cases, but the rest wasn't up to scratch".

Riverland
After good average rainfall in June and July, the weather turned fine and mild, bringing budburst on early and increasing the risk of frost. And the feared frosts did arrive, with minima of -5degC on 6th and 7th September, caused by an atmospheric temperature inversion.

It was at first thought that major damage had been done to the early shooting varieties - colombard, chardonnay, pinot noir and sultana. However, the loss was less than originally feared. Secondary buds showed higher than normal levels of fruitfulness and the growing season thereafter was ideal, with above average rainfall in September and October and a generally successful flowering. Cool, dry conditions prevailed through most of the summer, slowing ripening and delaying the onset of the harvest, which began on 24th January with pinot noir for sparkling base. The ripening pattern was most unusual, with some shiraz ripening before chardonnay. A smaller than normal berry size reduced some crops, but probably contributed to the generally excellent quality of shiraz and cabernet.

Ruby cabernet bettered its great quality from 1995 and will make a major contribution to the standard of the Queen Adelaide Regency Red. Chardonnay was excellent, particularly from Qualco, and colombard was also very good, while chenin and sauvignon blanc were a little disappointing.

Fortified wines were "stunning" according to Seppelt's James Godfrey. "The vineyard managers have done a lot of work on yield and vine balance and it shows - great shiraz and chardonnay for Viva, which is good, because with the way it's selling we need heaps of it".

Padthaway
June and July were cool and wet, providing badly needed replenishment of soil moisture. However, like most of South Australia, spring and summer were very dry and cool, although conditions were otherwise ideal, with very low disease pressure. The September frosts brought only minor damage. The harvest started nearly two weeks late on 26th February with sparkling wine varieties and the first picking of sauvignon blanc. The ripening period was unusual, with most varieties reaching maturity at the same time, which created a very hectic period for the wineries receiving the fruit.

But it was worth it. Padthaway had a simply outstanding vintage, delivering above average yields of excellent grapes across almost all varieties and reinforcing the great worth of this region. As vineyard manager Kym Ayliffe put it, "It was another dry year, but very cool, so we had good control of the stress levels - keeping the vines just surviving in a steady state. And there were no disease problems. A beautiful year!"

"I'm almost embarrassed to say it," said Lindemans' Phillip John. "For the third year in a row, Padthaway has had an excellent white vintage. You'd have to re-write the books on the yield/quality relationship this year. We had top quality chardonnay, very good semillon and verdelho, and all at higher than average yields. Riesling is also good, and in a finer, more floral style than the usual rather broad characters we get here. And we've got a beautiful pinot noir."

"Absolutely outstanding," said John Duval. "Shiraz and cabernet sauvignon are rich, full-bodied wines with big structure and tannin, particularly the cabernets. Merlot are good, too, and we have good quantities across all varieties. You'd have to congratulate the vineyard managers. They've done a great job".

Coonawarra
Good winter rainfall brought soil moisture levels to full capacity for the first time in at least two years. This was just as well, as the growing season became dry until good falls arrived in January. The September frosts caused slight damage to the early shooting varieties, chardonnay being the worst affected. Erratic fruit set on merlot and cabernet sauvignon gave some cause for concern, but on cabernet this was compensated by a higher bunch count than usual.

November and December were the coldest on record and the summer from veraison onwards remained unusually cool, with vineyard managers very worried about getting the grapes sufficiently ripe. However, in spite of some rainy weather, the seemingly impossible was achieved and good wines have been made, if without the high baumes of the biggest years.

Whites appear to have performed better than reds in quality. Chardonnay yields were down, thanks to frost and an infestation of apple moth, although Peter Douglas at Wynns thinks the quality is very good. The riesling, he says, is outstanding. Cabernet was the best performer amongst the reds. "It's a more adaptable variety in this sort of year", Peter said. "We've made a John Riddoch and a good quantity of Black Label". But shiraz struggled to ripen and is more uneven, with some high quality parcels and others which lack intensity and show herbaceous, white pepper characters. Pinot, however, is excellent, according to Rouge Homme's Paul Gordon, who has been able to make a large volume this year. Paul's very pleased with his cabernet, too, which he likens to 1991.

"The reds have good, strong varietal characters", said Lindemans' Greg Clayfield. "They're fairly rich, without reaching the heights of 1990, although we could have done with a bit more strength in the shiraz. The disappointments were malbec and cabernet franc which didn't ripen enough, so we have a smaller quantity of Pyrus this year."

Victoria

Great Western
Steady rains in June and good follow-up in July filled most dams, a great contrast to the previous year. August was warmer than usual, initiating a very early budburst, but cooler weather through spring and summer delayed the vines' activity. Good rainfall through the growing season promoted strong growth and a good flowering, although some minor frost damage occurred to chenin blanc and riesling. The summer was unusually cool, with damp, misty weather, quite unusual for Great Western, and this delayed veraison by two weeks, the cabernet sauvignon not changing colour until early March.

The harvest started on 12th March for sparkling wine varieties and in late March with chardonnay for table wines. Yields were above average, with chardonnay especially strong. Quality was overall excellent, with shiraz, cabernet sauvignon and chardonnay all showing great flavour. "It's been one of those lovely years for us," said Ian McKenzie. "Great Western's the backbone of Seppelt's Portfolio range and we had really high quality across all varieties." He rates the Individual Vineyard Shiraz alongside the 1995, another great vintage, except this year there is quantity as well.

North-east Victoria
The Rutherglen area had another very good growing season and James Godfrey reports some very good muscat and tokay for the Seppelt fortifieds. Higher up in the Ovens Valley, conditions were very difficult, with spring and autumn frosts and a cool, wet growing season. Ripeness was difficult to achieve and some vineyards suffered from bunch rot.

Sunraysia
Winter was cold and overcast with average rainfall. As elsewhere on the Murray River, the early budburst and September frosts proved a damaging combination, with significant losses to chardonnay and Canada muscat.

As in most of Australia, the growing season turned dry and cool, reversing the early start and delaying vintage. This started on 29th January, with crushing coming on with a rush with the return of the normal February heat. White wines were generally of very good quality, with chardonnay "quite extraordinary" according to Lindemans' Phillip John. "Some blocks yielded over 25 tonnes per hectare at 13 baumE!" A very large sultana crop has left the industry with a more than adequate supply of white wine for soft-pack. Reds were good, without reaching the quality heights of 1995, although some merlot was excellent.

Yarra Valley
After a wet winter, August and September were dry and relatively warm, encouraging vines to shoot three weeks early. However, the weather turned wet again in October and stayed that way for the rest of the season. Following a good flowering, a high yield potential was apparent and Fernhill Vineyard manager Stuart McNab thinned the crop on some blocks, a wise decision given the weather that was to follow. Summer conditions were simply appalling - wet and cold - with nearby Melbourne having its coldest summer for 100 years. Over 200mm of rain fell in the first 20 days of April, with only two dry days, and bunch rot led to some grapes being rejected on the vine.

In spite of the appalling weather, pinot noir ripened well and some very good table wines and sparkling bases were made. Chardonnay struggled to achieve ripeness, particularly when carrying large crops and, although the best have good fragrance, the wines lack the intensity of a good year. Cabernet and sauvignon blanc were mostly disappointing.

South-western Victoria
Higher than average winter rainfall gave the Drumborg Vineyard the best start for many years, but this was not to last. The September frosts caused the worst losses yet recorded at the vineyard, with damage to all the early varieties - pinot noir, meunier and pinot gris. Strong winds in November and December, followed by cool, damp conditions in January, caused poor fruit set in chardonnay and cabernet sauvignon. (Development of windbreaks has been very successful in the vineyard and will help to ameliorate wind problems in the future).

Luckily, the region around Drumborg avoided the summer rain which plagued eastern Victoria and the small crop load helped the vines to achieve very good maturity across all varieties. Pinot noir and chardonnay are very good, both for sparkling and table wines, with the former ready to make a great contribution to Seppelt Sunday Creek Pinot noir. There will be a Drumborg Cabernet sauvignon this year and the riesling was the best for many years. A limited quantity of 1996 Drumborg Riesling will be released in September as an Individual Vineyard wine.