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

1998 Australian Vintage Report

Nick Bulleid has searched high and low to get us the facts on the 1998 vintage, below is the results of that search:

Faced with predictions of widespread drought, many vineyard managers are now wondering how everything went so well this growing season.

Long-term weather forecasts, in particular those linked to the Southern Oscillation Index, had been predicting severe drought in many parts of Australia and evidence was supplied by a very dry winter, which left soil moisture profiles dangerously low. But, just as the worst expectations seemed about to be realised, a beautifully timed burst of rainfall would arrive, refreshing vineyards and optimism. Early fears of another drought-affected vintage like 1995, when the grape intake fell dramatically, proved unjustified.

Rainfall remained below average almost everywhere, but vine health was good, largely thanks to below average spring temperatures. The clear skies, which usually bring frost, instead brought a largely disease-free year.

As summer progressed, the weather became hotter and what had started as a late, relaxed growing season developed into an early, frantic vintage, at least in the more northerly, inland areas. Rapidly accelerating ripeness in February got away from many producers and the short picking window created havoc for grape picking and delivery. Some whites are unusually big and high in alcohol and would have been better balanced if picked earlier. However red wine quality is generally excellent, particularly in the more southern regions. Problems that did arise in some areas merely knocked the edge off what would otherwise have been an exceptional year. These included hot, dry summer winds in New South Wales, serious hail damage near Bordertown in South Australia's Limestone Coast, destructive frosts in low-lying parts of the Yarra Valley and early vintage rain in Margaret River. However, the overall result is that there have been no areas which produced less than good quality.

1998 has delivered exactly what the industry wanted at a critical time - both quality and quantity.

The national crush is estimated at about 954,700 tonnes, a 20% increase on 1997 and 8% above the previous record in 1996. Premium varieties totalled about 646,000 tonnes, an increase of 29% on 1997, demonstrating Australia's increasing focus on premium wine and a reduced emphasis on non-premium and multi-purpose grapes.

New South Wales

Hunter Valley
The Hunter had no really good rainfall between the 1997 vintage and September and irrigation started early in those vineyards which had water available. Mild conditions towards the end of August prompted an early bud-burst in chardonnay, after which beautifully timed rains prompted a good start to the year. There was useful follow-up rain in October and November, but a hot period with bushfires in early December left vineyards badly in need of top-up rain.
Then, as so often happens in the Hunter, heavy rain in January caused problems in early vintage and some chardonnay was picked earlier than ideal. However, as vintage progressed, the weather became drier and most fruit was delivered in very good condition. Pat Auld says the Lindemans semillon is very good, the best since 1995, and there should be a reserve wine for later release, perhaps as a Lindemans Classic. Chardonnay is generally more uneven. Tulloch has a full-bodied, flavoursome Verdelho which will hit the market young and fresh. Shiraz is round and soft, with very good flavour, but lacks the tannin and strength of the 1997s. There will be a Lindemans' Steven Vineyard Shiraz, however.

Central West
After a dry winter across most of the vineyards around Mudgee, Cowra and Young, good spring rainfall provided a healthy start to the season. Chardonnay buds began to push by mid September and shiraz towards the end of the month. The late spring became drier again and started a difficult period for the vineyards, with hot winds causing patches of leaf burn and drying the soil. The summer was unusually stormy and humid, which relieved the drought somewhat, but promoted a few outbeaks of disease. The ripening period was very quick, with chardonnay at Cowra coming in up to five weeks ahead of normal. Whites are generally very full and ripe with high alcohols and big flavours, although some lack delicacy. Reds were rather less consistent than the whites, but some parcels of shiraz turned out well. Hungerford Hill's Ian Walsh believes that cabernet sauvignon from Young is the highlight, "a very full-flavoured red, with great structure".

Riverina
After the cold, dry winter, good soaking spring rain brought welcome relief and a late budburst - generally by 10-14 days - lowered the risk of frost damage and the few light frosts during October had little effect. January rain brought welcome relief to the vines during the hot summer, but the heat continued, accompanied by strong winds, and some whites became sunburnt. Very rapid ripening lead to a very early vintage and high sugar levels were achieved on semillon and chardonnay, which have made very ripe styles of wine. Reds did not achieve quite the same ripeness, although some parcels of cabernet sauvignon were good.

Barooga
The dry winter's legacy was poor soil moisture, so watering started early. Although there were useful spring rains, Barooga generally missed the wet September that many other regions experienced. Bud-burst started with chardonnay on 19th September and the season thereafter went well. Barooga escaped frost damage for the first time in several years and three good falls of rain through October set the vineyard up well, with healthy vine canopies and crop levels. The summer was unusually dry and vintage started early, in good weather that was to continue for the whole harvest period.
Whites are of good, consistent quality, but with nothing outstanding. The reds from the new Windarra vineyard are another matter, with both cabernet sauvignon and shiraz showing the depth and tannin structure to have been included in the Penfolds reds, a great result from young vines.

Tumbarumba
The New South Wales Alps fared better in winter than most other areas, with good rainfall. There were two snowfalls in August in the Tumbarumba vineyard. Spring became much drier and there were frequent frosts, particularly in October. Damage was minimal, however - thanks to the installation of a new frost protection system - a relief after crippling frosts the previous year. Conditions remained very dry throughout the summer. A very rapid flowering occurred in December - two weeks early - and the growing season remained advanced right through to vintage, which was three weeks ahead of normal.
Sparkling wine bases from pinot noir and chardonnay have ripe, strong flavours and lack a little in finesse. The great successes are with table wines for Hungerford Hill - sauvignon blanc, pinot noir and chardonnay. The pinot is particularly big. Cabernet sauvignon and merlot also reached full sugar ripeness, but the herbaceous flavours suggest that, even in a warm, early year like this, the strength of the area is in the early ripening white varieties and pinot noir.

South Australia

Barossa Valley
July was very dry in the Barossa, with rainfall since the new year barely half average and soil moisture profiles unchanged since vintage. Fortunately, over 50mm of rain in August was the perfect prelude to bud-burst and a wet September even brought run-off into dams. October returned to very dry conditions until the end of the month, when falls of between 70 and 100mm restored the balance. In spite of the erratic changes through winter and spring, and some minor damage from wind and frost, the Barossa had a good start. However, January and February got progressively hotter and vineyards became very dry, with most dam water exhausted.
The earlier part of the harvest took place in mild conditions and a heat wave towards the end of March didn't interrupt the flow. In spite of the drought, yields were above average. Semillon is the star amongst the whites and chardonnay unusually good for the Barossa, so the Penfolds Old Vines and Semillon Chardonnay are very strong this year. Riesling is good, if on the big side, but sauvignon blanc disappointing. Some red vineyards suffered in the drought so there were few 'blockbuster' parcels of wine but John Duval is still delighted with the consistently high quality. "It's a great follow-up to '96 and '97", he said. "We have the largest volumes ever of some Penfolds reds". Cabernet had a good year in the Barossa, so Seppelt's Dorrien Vineyard Cabernet is very strong.

Eden Valley
Eden Valley was one of the few areas of South Australia to have had good rainfall through autumn and winter, although by the end of October the year was still only 70% of the average. The good luck continued into spring, with well-spaced rainfall boosting growth. Fruit set was generally good and all varieties carried a good crop load, with the exception of chardonnay. The summer was quite mild but very dry.
Vintage started early for sparkling bases and whites and it soon became clear that this was a simply outstanding year for riesling, the second in a row. Geoff Henriks has decided that Leonay, the pick of the vintage, will be from Eden Valley this year and there is also an excellent parcel for a Leo Buring maturation reserve, for release at perhaps 10 years of age. Neville Falkenberg is cock-a-hoop about Tollana's Riesling. "It's got a lovely lifted nose - spice and rose petals - and a very balanced palate with naturally soft acidity," he said. However, cooler weather in March and April slowed the development of the reds and both shiraz and cabernet struggled to ripen. Neville has selected a small quantity from both varieties, but there will be no Reserve Shiraz for Tollana this year.

Clare
Winter brought the driest July in Clare since 1982, with only 32mm of rain. August and September were an improvement, producing some badly needed run-off and bringing soil moistures and dams back to normal levels. As elsewhere in South Australia, October was dry until the 30th, when 111mm fell, taking the year's falls above the long-term mean. Vineyard Manager John Matz was pleased with the start - "a very good year for growing conditions, some of the best early season growth I've seen". Unlike most of South Australia, Clare received rain when it was required throughout the summer, January being the only dry month, and the harvest took place in ideal, mild March weather.
The rieslings are big and full-flavoured, lacking delicacy perhaps, but with lime and apple fruit making them great for shorter term drinking. Semillon is also a success, but chardonnay quite disappointing. Amongst the reds, shiraz is the highlight and Leo Buring has made an excellent follow-up to the 1997 which is due for release in two years time.

McLaren Vale
The Vales suffered badly from the dry winter, with only a third of normal July rainfall. As elsewhere in the areas around Adelaide, relief came with a return to normal conditions with good rains in August and September, but October was once again very dry. These conditions remained throughout the summer, with virtually no rain and hot, windy periods in February adding to the vines' stress. The result was good, if uneven, with the red performance generally ahead of the whites. The dry-grown vineyards that usually deliver the best red fruit were sometimes disappointing, whereas those that had supplementary water produced excellent results, particularly with cabernet sauvignon. Seaview's Cabernet Sauvignon and Shiraz, both have wonderful colour and flavour. Semillon was the best white performer - soft and round in the mouth with sweet, honeyed fruit characters. Chardonnays have high levels of alcohol and extract, but lack real fruit intensity and sauvignon blanc was rather disappointing, without the varietal intensity required.

Riverland
Winter was cold and dry along the Murray River with some areas receiving no rain of any significance during June or July. Vineyard managers used early irrigation to prepare for budburst, which was up to two weeks late, a welcome event given the increased frost risk in the dry conditions. September brought good rain and gave a good start to the season. After that, conditions remained fairly dry, but fortunately temperatures were mild. In spite of the late budburst, flowering was two to three weeks early and passed very quickly, with a good set, particularly in reds. Spring growth was vigourous and healthy, with Regional Vineyard Manager Alan Gilgen declaring "if this is the El Niņo effect, give it to us every year!"
Summer conditions were also good, December bringing good rains, and the season moved quite quickly from a late one to an early one. February became progressively hotter and brought ripening on with a rush. Many varieties ripened at the same time, wreaking havoc with normal vintage schedules and making the intake period frantic. A period of extreme heat in late March sustained the rush right to the end of vintage.
Whites are generally big and alcoholic and will bring additional fullness and richness to popular wines like Queen Adelaide and Matthew Lang. Amongst the reds, shiraz and merlot are particularly good and show the benefit of greater liaison between vineyard managers and winemakers in deciding picking time, even in a hectic year like this one.

Padthaway
Padthaway had an exceptionally dry winter and, even though rainfall improved into spring, conditions remained dry. Budburst, although even, was between one and two weeks late. By the end of October, Padthaway was headed for the second driest year in the last 27 years of records and irrigation starting three weeks earlier than usual. The clear skies brought frosts, although losses were minor. Rainfall improved in November, promoting vigourous growth, and flowering and fruit set were successful. Thereafter the summer remained very dry throughout and vintage started nearly three weeks early.
For the fourth year in a row, Padthaway has delivered simply outstanding quality, with chardonnay, shiraz and cabernet sauvignon all extraordinary. The Lindemans Padthaway range will have some exceptional wines and the strength of fruit and firm structure of the reds will play an important role in the Penfolds 'Bin' reds this year. Pinot noir shows more character than in some regions usually thought more suited to the variety, as does sauvignon blanc. The riesling, too, is the best for some years, with more delicate, limey fruit than usual, and will make an excellent Bin 23 for Lindemans.

Coonawarra
By the end of August, Coonawarra's rainfall was officially the lowest on record and even above average rains in September failed to bring soil moisture back to normal. June to August rains totalled 130mm, about half the average, and provided unwelcome evidence of the El Niņo threat. October continued very dry, before a wonderful November produced several short, heavy bursts of rain which brought soil moisture levels back to normal and promoted vigorous growth. The dry conditions returned in December to last all summer but, fortunately, without baking heat. The season remained wonderfully disease-free.
Vintage started early. It continued trouble-free, without delays, and has delivered large volumes of remarkably consistent wine. It was immediately clear that cabernet sauvignon was of wonderful quality - back to that of 1990 and 1991 - but as time went by and the wines cleaned up after fermentation, it became clear that shiraz was just as strong. Paul Gordon is very excited with his wines at Rouge Homme, describing the reds as "very strong, with full ripeness and no leafy or peppery characters. For value-for-money, the Shiraz Cabernet will be outstanding, although the Cabernet sauvignon will be the real benchmark," he added. In spite of excellent Limestone Ridge and Pyrus, Greg Clayfield at Lindemans thinks St George is narrowly the pick of the 'Trio'. "It's between 1990 and '91 in style - the richness of the '90, but with the elegance of '91."
The great consistency has delivered the best volumes of Wynns reds for some time and there are some great parcels of cabernet and shiraz reserved for John Riddoch and Michael.
Whites, too, are consistently very good, with richly flavoured chardonnays and aromatic rieslings.

Robe
Unlike most other regions, Robe had an early bud-burst, in spite of the dry, cool winter. As in Coonawarra, the continuing dry spring conditions prompted an early start to irrigation, but later rains improved the situation greatly. The main problem for Robe this season was with wind, which was strong throughout spring in this usually sheltered spot. Like its neighbour Coonawarra, Robe had a very dry, but otherwise trouble-free summer. Shiraz was the best performer off this young vineyard and will make its first appearance in the new Lindemans Limestone Coast Shiraz, which will soon partner the successful Chardonnay.

Victoria

Great Western
Winter was so dry at Great Western that 55mm of rain in August had little effect on soil moisture profiles. Over 120mm in September brought welcome relief but it was not long before conditions again became dry. The clear skies brought several frosts, one of which, on 18th October, appeared to have caused damage to shiraz, but loss was eventually found to be minimal. By early December the vines were looking very healthy and with good vigour, helped by well-spaced rainfalls, the only problem being some damage from Light Brown Apple Moth. Flowering and fruit set were successful, in spite of strong winds.
The summer remained very dry, but thankfully without any extreme heat. Vintage started early, the earliest for four years, and took place without problems. Yields were higher than expected, remarkable given the dry conditions. Shiraz is once again magnificent, the fourth year in a row it has delivered great quality. "It was an exceptionally strong year for shiraz here in Victoria", said Seppelt's Ian McKenzie. "Our own fruit at Great Western and grapes from Bendigo, Geelong and the Ovens Valley - it all came up trumps." Seppelt Great Western Vineyard Shiraz and Chalambar will both be extraordinary this year. Chardonnay is very strong, even better than the 1997, but riesling is the one disappointment, as the fruit became too exposed on drought-affected vines.

Sunraysia
Winter was dry and cold and Sunraysia had to wait until September before any useful rain arrived. Bud-burst was generally late. No rain was recorded in October, but isolated hail storms in November caused localised damage. In spite of the dry conditions, vine health was good. Summer became progressively hotter, with strong winds and occasional hail storms in January and ripening accelerated, with little spacing of maturity between varieties. Picking started on 4th February and continued in a mad rush as sugar levels leapt at unprecedented rates.
Both chardonnay and semillon are alcoholic and full-flavoured, as in the Riverland. The semillon on the Lake Cullulleraine Vineyard was again outstanding, although the earlier picked parcels were the best, with intense fruit, the later ones tending to be rather too big. Shiraz and merlot are the best of the reds.

Yarra Valley
"Too dry or too wet" has been the Yarra's cry for the last three years and winter and spring weather did nothing to change this. Dams were still empty in early August and, while reasonable rains later in the month improved soil moisture levels, conditions remained very dry. Frost brought damage to some vineyards during September and a more widespread event on 20th October destroyed most growth on low-lying vineyards near Yarra Glen, but fortunately Coldstream Hills was unaffected. Late spring saw the Yarra with vigorous growth, which was two to three weeks ahead of normal in spite of the drought conditions. Vineyard Manager Nicky Harris reported that fruit set was very good and bunch numbers above average.
The season remained hot and dry - it was Melbourne's driest summer for 125 years - although rainfall improved later on, giving relief to parched vineyards. Picking started about two weeks early, on 3rd March, and continued in perfect conditions, with the weather becoming much cooler as vintage progressed. All wines are marked by full, ripe flavours with reds the great successes, all showing very distinctive varietal character. James Halliday was delighted. "The weather gods continued to smile on us. Disease free grapes and near perfect sugar/ph/acid balances guarantee that the least successful wines will be, at the very least, good. It's early days yet, but we have some superlative merlot in Seguin Moreau's Haut Brion barrels, outstanding cabernet sauvignon, and some excellent parcels of pinot noir; a year which should give us plenty of reserve quality wine."

Drumborg
By the end of July, the south-west of Victoria had recorded its longest ever dry spell and the clear skies brought the vineyard's lowest minimum and highest maximum temperature on record for the month. Rainfall improved in August and September, but was still short on what was needed. The warm days prompted an early budburst, but the vineyards surprisingly remained free of frost damage.
Summer continued very dry and warm, with only occasional freshening showers, and ripening continued in perfect weather.
1998 has been a remarkable year for Drumborg. Sparkling wine bases are very full-flavoured, the pinot noir picked rather riper than usual. The wonderful weather also allowed full ripeness for the table wines. As Ian McKenzie said, "The vineyard produced a higher than average crop, but the quality! - I think it's outstanding. We've got good riesling, outstanding cabernet and the best pinot noir yet, for Sunday Creek and an Individual Vineyard Pinot. There may also be a Drumborg Chardonnay for the first time".

Western Australia

Margaret River
Excellent rainfall through August and September prepared the vineyards for budburst beautifully. Spring conditions remained good, if on the cool side, promoting more vigour than usual. Margaret River was spared its usual November thunderstorms and wind was lower than normal, leading to a good flowering and fruit set. What was shaping up to be an excellent summer was spoilt by two periods of unseasonal rain in February and the vineyards never completely recovered. Outbreaks of Botrytis could not be entirely controlled and created difficulties. "It was threatening, but we ensured that any suspect fruit was left out", said Devil's Lair winemaker Janice McDonald. "But I'm very happy with the results. I think that the Cabernet Sauvignon is the best since the 1995 and the Chardonnay has very good intensity, too - similar to the '97.

Nick Bulleid MW