Vintage 2011
Weather Conditions
2011 began with a dry but very cool winter and this continued through to spring. A total of 45mm of rainfall was recorded for the months of March, April and May, less than half of the spring average. At this point we began to worry about how the vines would cope with the warmer and drier months to come with such little water reserved in the soil. Bud burst came early and flowering took place in dry, sunny conditions without any problems.
Wetter and cooler conditions came, but not until the summer months. On paper, the month of June was relatively normal with average temperatures and sunshine hours. However, we did experience frequent mists and light rain that were not enough to thoroughly water the plants but increased disease, particularly botrytis, pressure. The vineyard team had to be vigilant in their leaf plucking to ensure a vineyard canopy that was well aerated with minimal humidity. Average rainfall was recorded in the month of July and slightly higher than average for the month of August. September was a relatively dry month with average daily temperatures and the harvest began the beginning of October and was finished within 16 days.
Quality of the Vintage: Very good