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

1999 Australian Vintage Report

If ever there was a vintage to remind us how big this country is, 1999 was it. Thanks to localised extremes of weather, which arrived in differing degrees and at different times in the growing season, there is no consistent pattern of either quality or style across Australia's grape-growing regions. Even within small areas, differences in vineyard management have produced a wide range of quality. The vintage will be a nightmare for those devoted to numerical ratings and vintage cards.

The early 1998/99 growing season in most regions of Australia was marked by very dry conditions. This was in spite of a breakdown in the previous El Niño cycle, which had brought drought the previous year. With the exception of Western Australia and the more northerly parts of New South Wales, winter and spring were drier than normal and many dam water levels remained low. In addition to occasional frosts which brought sporadic damage to some regions, there was a very widespread event on 27th October which badly affected vineyards through the inland parts of New South Wales, including Cowra, Canberra and Tumbarumba, in Rutherglen, central and southern Victoria and through the Riverland of South Australia to Coonawarra. Large tracts of vineyard were not really affected, so the impact on the overall Australian crush was not large, but growth on many small vineyards was completely destroyed, particularly in the higher, cooler areas.

Hot weather in December and January made big demands on remaining water supplies and caused vine stress in some regions, with loss of quality.

From early February, patchy, but often quite heavy, rain began to affect most of south-eastern Australia and heavy rainfall in March caused considerable damage to central South Australia, parts of the Yarra Valley and Tasmania.

Many growers who have for several years been able to gain increasing prices for heavily cropped fruit have received a rude shock. Nevertheless good vineyard management, well-timed harvesting and winemakers with the will to reject unsound fruit have allowed many companies to make good volumes of attractive wines. And in a few regions the results have been spectacular.

The Australian Wine and Brandy Corporation is expecting the grape crush to come in on about the previous industry estimate 1,070,000 tonnes, an increase of 12% on the 1998 total of 955,000t.

New South Wales

Hunter Valley
The Hunter had unusually good rain over winter and the wet weather continued through September and October. Budburst and early vine growth were two weeks ahead of normal and the rain promoted a few outbreaks of downy mildew. Flowering took place towards the end of October and the set was generally good. Scattered rain continued through November and care was needed to keep early botrytis under control, but the weather then turned dry. January was hot, and rain towards end of the month and early February renewed the threat of rot in whites, particularly in more vigorous, low-lying blocks.

Picking started in early February and the difficult weather convinced most winemakers to pick early, rather than take risks. The semillons are of very good quality and, although a little lighter than in 1998, they have a very attractive softness about them. Pat Auld has selected a reserve wine to be released after about four years' bottle age and later as a Lindemans Classic. Chardonnays, while sound, generally lack weight, but will make attractive, early maturing wines. The shiraz has Pat really excited. "Fantastic wines!", he said. "They have good colour and flavour and a lovely softness - a bit like the '87s. It's been an incredible decade for Hunter shiraz; we only really missed in '92 and '93." There will be both a regular Hunter Valley Shiraz and a Steven Vineyard wine. Tulloch will also have an excellent Hector from 1999.

Central West and Southern Tablelands
The central and southern tablelands had a wet winter and the rain continued well into the spring, with September and October particularly wet. It became progressively drier in the more southern areas, like Young, while Mudgee in the north of the region continued to get very good rain. Very hot weather in early January caused vine stress in a few localities and storms at end of the month brought high humidity and powdery mildew, particularly in Cowra and Mudgee. February remained hot, before the weather cooled in the second half of the month, with ripening slowing considerably. Vintage started with pinot noir for sparkling wine bases in the third week of February. Later in the harvest, rain events caused localised havoc from botrytis, with some fruit being lost altogether.

Semillons are flavoursome but generally rather broad, after suffering from the heat. Cowra chardonnays were uneven but, where fruit was picked early and sound, the result has been good. Ian Walsh says he has quite an elegant wine for Hungerford Hill. Mudgee chardonnays are better than in 1998, but with few highlights. Hilltops probably had the best result with whites in the area and the chardonnays, while lighter than the big, alcoholic 1998s, are probably all the better for it. Ian believes that Hilltops has made the best red, too, and has made a finely structured cabernet sauvignon for Hungerford Hill. Cabernet performed better than shiraz across the whole region.

Barooga
Good spring rain provided an excellent start, with budburst of pinot noir and chardonnay occurring on 12th September. Weather became drier in November, keeping disease pressure low, and conditions remained that way through the hot summer, until thunderstorms brought scattered rain and high humidity in January. Harvest started on 9th February under threat of botrytis, although worst fears weren't realised. Fine March weather, with warm days and cool nights and only two days of rain provided good conditions later in the vintage.

The Tarn Pirr whites are sound but lacklustre, lacking the fully ripe, peachy flavours this specialist chardonnay vineyard usually produces. The Windarra Vineyard reds - cabernet and shiraz - have ripe flavours and good characters, but without great weight.

Riverina
Frosts at the start of the growing season caused considerable damage to many vineyards and a hot, dry summer further reduced potential yield, no bad thing in this region. Milder weather preceded vintage, which started in mid February. A large tonnage had been picked by 19th March, when 250mm rain fell in two days. After that the weather remained cool.

Given the excessive heat and then rain, there is general surprise that the wines have turned out so well. Chardonnay has better balance, albeit with less intensity, than big 1998s and semillons have produced good quality. These will give a boost to some international labels. Cabernets are good and so is shiraz picked before the rain set in. Conversion of vineyards to drip, rather than flood, irrigation and better control of cropping levels have made a big contribution to the improvement of the Riverina wines in recent years.

Tumbarumba
The Alpine areas of NSW had excellent winter and spring rain and early growth was good. However, the severe frost on 27th October damaged almost all vineyards in the area., with many grower vineyards showing total loss. Sprinkler protection on lower parts of the Southcorp Tumbarumba vineyard saved that part of the crop, including sauvignon blanc, pinot gris and chardonnay, but 8ha of pinot noir on the upper slopes were badly burnt.

Good rains in January were at first beneficial, but eventually botrytis appeared in many vineyards.

The quality of the early ripening varieties is good, although the quantity often tiny, thanks to the frost. Ian Walsh says there is a small parcel of elegant, intense chardonnay for Hungerford Hill and the sauvignon blanc is very good, although the quantity is only a fraction of what he would have liked.

South Australia

Barossa Valley
Rainfall through winter was disappointing, but useful rain arrived just in time to accompany budburst in September and continued through October. However, there was little run-off into dams, which had been low since the previous season. Rain in November and December was enough to maintain very healthy vine growth, but could not overcome the dry conditions. These lasted through summer, with the heat increasing after the new year. Canopies began to deteriorate as vines became more stressed and some vineyard managers resorted to crop thinning shiraz to maintain ripening capacity. Then 50-90mm of rain fell in March, followed by wintry conditions, and these slowed ripening, split berries and allowed mould to set in. It became a battle to harvest the fruit before damage and some inevitably came in before full flavour development.

Some whites are nevertheless more attractive than the big, alcoholic 1998s. The Penfolds Semillon Chardonnay, for instance, will surprise many people. Reds are sound, lightly structured and soft, somewhat like the 1992s, and ideal for early drinking, but without the generosity the Barossa is famous for. John Duval says that there is only limited material in the super-premium bracket and that the larger volume multi-regional Penfolds reds, like Bins 28 and 389, will contain a larger proportion from the southeast of the state than usual.

With finer weather later in vintage, James Godfrey from Seppelt found the fortified fruit came in better than expected. He has some "quite striking" shiraz for the vintage-dated Para Liqueur and there will be good vintage ports from shiraz, touriga and cabernet. The grenache off the old Seppeltsfield blocks was also good. James said the crop from Rutherglen this year was pitifully small, thanks to frost, but the wines have turned out quite well, the muscats better than the tokays.

Eden Valley
Like the Barossa itself, the Barossa Ranges had a very dry winter and spring. However, Vineyard Manager Allen Jenkins pruned shorter last winter on blocks likely to be low on moisture, so the vines coped with the dry weather better than they might have done. Frost damage on 28th October was light apart from a shiraz block on Roeslers Vineyard, which was badly burnt. The hot, dry weather initially brought no problems, but as it continued relentlessly through February some vines started to stress. March rains and very cold nights slowed flavour development and started mould growth. Vintage began with a rush, all whites being picked by 29th March. Chardonnay and sauvignon blanc were picked largely before the rain and suffered only from lack of water, and not from rot. The best chardonnay was that picked first and, while good, is leaner than recent years.

Tollana's Neville Falkenberg says riesling is the highlight. "That shorter pruning on Woodbury paid off well. We had good leaf cover and the fruit came in two weeks early, just as the rain started. It's got quite lifted, rose-petal characters - quite powerful fruit and not as steely-Eden-Valley as usual." Neville also has an excellent parcel of semillon from the Roesler's vineyard.

Shiraz came under considerable botrytis pressure and cabernet never really developed the flavour required, so there are unlikely to be any Tollana reds bottled from 1999.

Adelaide Hills
The southern end of the Hills had early luck in picking up some of the same rain events as McLaren Vale and had a trouble-free early growing season. The northern end, between Gumeracha and Mount Pleasant, was much drier, with dam levels and soil moisture very low. Water was trucked into the Partalunga Vineyard during January and February at great expense.

The wines have turned out very unevenly. Chardonnay in the central Hills area around Piccadilly is excellent and some very good parcels were made from the northern parts, with a grapefruit character reminiscent of Margaret River. There is plenty of top material earmarked for Yattarna. Tollana has a very attractive sauvignon blanc again this year. But the southern hills above McLaren Vale suffered badly from the rain and little good white or red was made. Reds from the central and northern hills were much better and pinot noir, shiraz and cabernet all achieved ripeness without disease. Many do lack generosity and depth of flavour, however.

Adelaide
The Magill Estate vineyard experienced the same dry spring and summer as the Hills and McLaren Vale, although the underground streams which cross the slope there eased the drought somewhat. All the fruit was picked between 25th and 29th February, before the rain, and the wine is strong in colour and fruit flavour.

Clare
Winter was on the dry side, but Clare generally fared better than many other parts of South Australia, with 50mm in September beautifully timed for budburst and good follow-up in October. But dam levels remained low. Above average November rainfall helped considerably, but the weather later became very hot and dry. This resulted in poor bunch set on chardonnay, cabernet sauvignon and merlot. Like neighbouring regions, the summer continued very hot and dry, until 55mm rain and cooler weather in March.

Clare has emerged as the highlight in central South Australia, with a very good vintage for riesling, the third in a row. Leo Buring's Geoff Henriks expects that he'll select a Leonay from Clare this year. Geoff says the rieslings have "a lovely softness and good length." He also has a very good shiraz from the Leasingham area.

McLaren Vale
McLaren Vale was the only vineyard area in South Australia to have had good winter rains, and budburst got underway with good soil moisture levels. Good follow-up rain occurred through the spring, particularly in October. The fruit and vines held up surprisingly well in the hot January weather and, when vintage got underway, it was the equal earliest start to vintage. This was a stop/start process from start to finish, with frequent rain interruptions and strange sequences, like some shiraz ripening ahead of semillon and riesling. Ninety three millimetres of rain fell in March, which was the highest rainfall for that month in decades.

It is difficult finding high quality wines amongst all varieties, but Seaview's Steve Chapman says he has good parcels of chardonnay and shiraz for Edwards and Chaffey. "Seaview chardonnay will be pretty strong again", he added. It was not a good year for semillon and sauvignon blanc, however, and there will be no Edwards and Chaffey Cabernet.

Riverland
Bud-burst was early, starting with chardonnay in late August. Growth was quite slow, however, and within a short while the season was back to normal timing. Thunderstorms brought good, but erratic rain late in September and the weather remained uneven through spring, with hot northerly winds interspersed with cold periods and scattered rain. Flowering and fruit set were generally successful with the exception of cabernet sauvignon. The hot, dry weather in December and January was ideal for reduced deficit irrigation, which is being used more frequently to promote red wine quality in this area.

January was fine and hot, and vine health generally remained good, thanks to large canopies. Picking started with chardonnay on 15th February, but ripening slowed and with deteriorating weather conditions growers became very edgy. "It put us back by two to three weeks", said Nigel Logos from the Queen Adelaide winery at Waikerie. The Riverland escaped the worst of the March rain, with only 40mm at Waikerie for the month. "There was certainly some variation within the region," said Nigel. "Waikerie fruit came in very well but Loxton took more of a beating. The chardonnay turned out well for Queen Adelaide and there are some good parcels of shiraz, but ruby cabernet and cabernet sauvignon aren't so good."

The weather became finer through April and, according to James Godfrey, there are some good fortified wines, which reached the baumés required and with good flavour. "Good, but nothing really startling", he said. "We could afford to be selective with the small harvest, after the hot summer, and picked the best of it."

Padthaway
Padthaway had a very dry year, with only heavy rains in September breaking the pattern. November continued very dry, yet with cool days and nights, and the high number of sunshine hours encouraged unusually big vine canopies. "We've been through some very hot weather since Christmas", said Vineyard Manager Kym Ayliffe, "but the vines held up well and we've had no disease to speak of."

January and February remained very dry - "The driest I have ever seen the region", said Lindemans' Phillip John - but Padthaway escaped the March rain and has, once again, had a wonderful vintage.

Whites are yet again excellent, with chardonnay and riesling are the stars. Lindemans Padthaway Chardonnay will continue its extraordinary run of successes and Premier Selection Riesling will be one of the great bargains from the vintage. The reds, too, are excellent again, in a wonderful run of vintages for Padthaway. Both cabernet and shiraz have good, strong flavours and merlot is also very good.

"It's great to have such good wine coming out of Padthaway and Coonawarra, after the difficulties we've had up north", said Penfolds' John Duval. "They'll play an important role in the Penfolds reds this year".

Coonawarra
After a dry winter, good rains in September arrived just in time to assist early growth, but this was nevertheless less vigorous than usual. Frost in late October brought minor damage to many vineyards, mostly to growing tips, but unfortunately struck the St George Vineyard badly and over half the crop was lost. November was dry and windy, although fruit set generally took place in good conditions. Cabernet sauvignon was the exception and cropped at a lower level than usual. The vines weathered the hot spell in early January well and cooler weather from mid February with badly needed light rain further eased the stress. Coonawarra had more March rain than elsewhere in the Limestone Coast, which prompted small outbreaks of botrytis, but these caused few difficulties.

The harvest started about 2 weeks early and continued in good conditions. The result was another excellent year in Coonawarra across all varieties. Sue Hodder describes the Wynns reds as "big and sturdy - very ripe with high alcohols and big tannins. They're a bit 1991ish - wines that will need time to mellow - real cellaring wines". There will be good quantities of John Riddoch and Michael this year. Riesling is flavoursome and will be more forward, thanks to the warm summer, and chardonnay resembles the beautiful 1997 wine.

Paul Gordon at Rouge Homme is bubbling. "Excellent", he said. "Across the board, all the Rouge Homme wines will be pretty good. The pinot's very strong and full flavoured, and we've got a good quantity. The cabernet's ripe and minty with great fruit definition". Lindemans' Greg Clayfield talks of "incredible intensity. It's a shame the frost left us less than 2000 dozen St George, but it's a beauty, and Limestone Ridge and Pyrus are great, too".

Robe
The Robe region to the west of Coonawarra had a similar season to its more famous neighbour - hot and dry. This weather continued through January and February, although foggy, misty mornings developed in March, not unusual in this coastal region. Robe shiraz has very good colour and rich varietal flavour and will form the backbone of Lindemans Limestone Coast.

Victoria

Great Western
Winter was very dry, provoking an early budburst. Frost on 25th September caused minor damage, but only to young vines at ground level. The severe frost on 27th October caused damage to two Seppelt blocks, with the worst loss to shiraz on the St Peters vineyard. Spring was generally cool, but brought useful rain, so there was more water available than in recent years, but this was to change. Berry set on some blocks was affected by high winds.

The summer turned very hot and dry and rain on 11th and 12th February caused some berry split, but this dried out and left no lasting damage. Picking table wines started on 4th March with sauvignon blanc and thereafter the season remained quite cold.

The reds have again performed brilliantly, particularly shiraz. Ian McKenzie describes them as "just amazing - the equal of the 1998s and the fifth wonderful vintage in a row." There is a record make of Chalambar Shiraz. One great parcel of riesling from the Seppelt 'Police' block will make a memorable Sheoak Spring and there are some good, if less consistent, chardonnays. Whites from growers in the Strathbogie Ranges have turned out very well, with riesling and chardonnay both making a valuable contribution to the Seppelt Victorian Portfolio.

Sunraysia
Conditions remained very dry from winter through to summer, although occasional rains, most recently in early January, freshened up the vines. Flowering and fruit-set were successful, but the hot dry weather and lack of rain reduced a potentially above average crop to about a normal one.

The heat "blow-torched the leaves" until end of January, according to Phillip John, when 75mm of rain arrived. Vintage started on 27th January, but a hot February and scattered rain interrupted the harvest and disease caused some problems, particularly with sultanas. Some fruit was rejected at the crusher.

In spite of the problems, the wines are generally more attractive than the '98s, with more freshness and balance and are less 'hot' and alcoholic. Chardonnay is the best of the whites, while colombard and semillon lack ripe flavour. Vineyards without good canopy management suffered, either from sunburn or rot.

Yarra Valley
Conditions had remained exceptionally dry in the Yarra since vintage and budburst was early, chardonnay shooting in late August. Good rain in September helped fill most dams but the weather remained very variable with extremes of heat and cold. At least there was good rain. Flowering got underway with chardonnay and pinot noir at end of November and set was generally good across all varieties with the exception of merlot. Rain between Christmas and the New Year initially helped the vines, but from then on the weather became bizarre - almost tropical - with alternating periods of deluge and heat.

But the killer, according to James Halliday, was near continuous rain in February and March - 122mm and then 113mm - which continued into early April. Even more bizarre, the central part of the valley around Lillydale and Healesville bore the brunt of the rain, while the normally wetter eastern arm of the valley beyond Seville escaped relatively unscathed. The northwestern area around Diamond Valley was also drier.

The earlier varieties came through all right, with good sugars and flavour, but botrytis was endemic, as some berry split had occurred prior to veraison, thanks to the heat and wet shocks. The late varieties had much greater problems.

"We were saved by the low crops", said James. Coldstream Hills has made "very respectable chardonnays", and pinot noir managed to survive the weather and produce attractive wine. There will be small quantities of reserve wines for both. There is also an excellent sauvignon blanc, equal to or surpassing the wonderful 1998, and 'G' Block near the Coldstream winery again defied logic by making a reserve cabernet.

Drumborg
Winter was very dry, but a beautifully warm September weather brought budburst two weeks ahead of normal and good rain boosted dam levels. Spring was generally very windy and warm, but with rain bringing dam levels and soil moisture to reasonable levels. Later the season became very dry, although Vineyard Manager Alan McLean still thinks he had "an excellent spring".

January continued dry and warm and the stress resulted in a poor set in cabernet, pinot gris and pinot noir. February was warm and humid, yet without significant disease problems, but increasing rain in March, plus humid days with regular fogs and dews, brought bunch rot and in some cases hand picking was used to avoid affected bunches.

Ian McKenzie is "pretty happy" about the sparkling wine bases for Seppelt Salinger, and the table wines were also successful, if less consistent than in 1998. Pinot grigio was again excellent; so too was riesling, but in the austere, steely style of the 1993, so it will be released as a maturation reserve. Chardonnay is good, with pinot noir more patchy, although the best parcels will make a very good Sunday Creek.

Western Australia

Margaret River
The season started with a very wet September, bringing more than double normal rainfall. The wet spring brought downy mildew to Western Australia's vineyards for the first time, but none was reported from Margaret River. October became drier and November drier still, restoring some normality to the seasonal conditions. Vineyard Manager Simon Robertson reported that the rain prompted very strong and rapid growth, although a series of south-east and south-westerly fronts kept the region cool and growth thereafter slowed, keeping the canopies open.

The summer was typically warm with little rain. Cloudy skies and humid weather arriving from the north via Cyclone Vance panicked a few vineyard managers, but no rain eventuated.

The consistently perfect summer has produced a truly memorable vintage, with cabernet sauvignon and merlot the stars. "Potentially it's the red vintage of the decade", said Janice McDonald from Devil's Lair, "They're like the '95s, but without the chewy tannins and with all the concentration". Merlot, in particular, responded well to bunch thinning down to about half the crop. The quantity of Devil's Lair red is the largest yet made, thanks to the inclusion of the bunch-thinned blocks in the blend for the first time. Chardonnay is very good, but semillon, sauvignon blanc and shiraz are not special, particularly where vines overcropped. Some fruit in the region remained unpicked, for that reason.

Nick Bulleid MW