VINTAGE REPORT AND RATINGS
1983 Give us a chance..we hadn't even planted..but elsewhere, a very severe drought by contemporary standards. 4
1984 Quite wet with some hail and bird damage on control fruit...Good growing conditions for an establishing vineyard. 5
1985 Good growing season with very dry finish to late March. Encouraging fruit flavours, particularly the reds. 8
1986 Perfect growing season throughout; spice & cigars opportunistically enjoyed by vicarious vulpine visitors. 7
1987 Cold growing conditions with heavy rain in early March, more tobacco leaf than cigars. An underdone vintage. 5
1988 Dry, early vintage. Good quality clean fruit. Cabernet tannins still fresh and exciting in late 2013. 8
1989 Potentially great vintage. We suffered a terrible hail storm at 10 pm on New Year's Eve. Clean bowled. 0
1990 Moist season followed by a dry March and early April. Complete wines with rich fruit and fine acid balance. 7
1991 Drought year with vintage late-March. Low yields and intense flavours resulting in densely coloured, long-lived reds. 8
1992 Cool and moist until late February, then sunshine. Finely balanced wines of moderate alcohols which have aged beautifully. 9
1993 Dry, cold winter followed by a testing, wet Spring. A late sunny vintage helped raise spirits. Riesling shone. 6
1994 Mild winter and a frost scare on 12th October. Dry harvest saw rich fruit and a first July Ice Riesling. 8
1995 Dry conditions continued. Fruit quality was good across all varieties. Cabernet carried the flag. 6
1996 Drought hit with a vengeance. Perfect vintage conditions. Intensely flavoured small berried Cabernet and tight Riesling. 7
1997 Another dry year. Fine, well structured Chardonnay and riesling the best and a surprise late Riesling picked on 20th June. 7
1998 Hottest and driest year for decades. Early ripening richly flavoured wines. An exceptional Maurice Merlot Noir and Cabernet release. 8
1999 A year for all seasons. Frost, hail, heat and rain at vintage. Good Riesling and surprising Cabernet; some fine Chardonnay. 7
2000 See 1987, double it and add devastating hail, bird attacks and torrential vintage rain. Chirac best although Cabernet a surprise lately. Enough said! 3
2001 Dry season until mid-vintage hail and 91 mm from 11th to 17th March. Riesling, Schubert, Shiraz impress. 7
2002 Great season, drought vintage. Wonderful ripe, balanced fruit. Chardonnay, Pinot, Riesling and Shiraz all fine. 8
2003 Drought continued into very early, very warm vintage. All reds are good, especially Cabernet and Shiraz. 7
2004 Fair winter but drought continued. Dry cool vintage, low yields and intense flavours. Reds & Chardonnay a bit special. 8
2005 Drought continues continuing. Excellent early growing season. Natural fruit/acid balance in all varieties. Pinot OK! 7
2006 Drought continues intensifying. Very clean growing season with early, healthy vintage. Riesling, Shiraz & Cabernet all good. 7
2007 Drought intensifies into strangulation mode until 200 mm over a tough vintage. Birds a real problem. Small crop, rare flavours. Chirac shone. 5
2008 Still droughty,but variable cooler early vintage .Moderate crops of clean fruit. Riesling, Malbec and Merlot Noir particularly fine. 8
2009 Dry enough but THE VINTAGE OF THE CENTURY!!. Moderate crops of clean fruit with great balance and texture. Take your pick, it's all good. 9
2010 A season for the skilled in the vineyard. A lot of winemaking but not a lot of wine, very good though it surely is. Schubert and Shiraz outstanding. 8
2011 A spring and summer which would have made Noah feel at home. Plenty of challenges met and overcome. Cabernet Franc blossoms. 6
2012 More rain, more pain. Low crops in low cloud just got us through to a dry vintage month. Excellent whites. Less is more. 7
2013 Record heat, record one day rainfall on 1st March followed by windiest month for years. In the end, very good reds and great whites. Pinot a surprise. 8
2014 Potential brown disaster followed by potential green disaster. 230 mm in 23 rainfall events over six weeks. Some fancy foot work required. Possibly a 7