NEWS FROM THE WINERY -

2008 VINTAGE CREW

"The biggest ever and maybe one of the best, 502 Tonnes, which surpasses many of our past vintages.

Every tank in the winery was full at one point and the size of the harvest has pushed our operating capacity to (and beyond) its absolute maximum.

It is early days to rate the vintage but I will do my best to give a quick indication:

Chardonnay – the best in my opinion, 9/10. Good ripeness in most blocks and excellent flavours.

Pinot Noir – very good across the board 8.5/10. The wines as they go to barrel show good tannin structure and very good depth of flavour. The first six months in barrel will be interesting to see development. 

Sauvignon Blanc – 8/10. Excellent at our Burnt Spur and Moy Hall sites - the ripest and tastiest I have seen it. Very good blending options here I believe.

The vintage crew have been great and have impressed me with the ability to work long hours consecutively. They all did a super job when the big push came and are all pleased to have been a part of the 08 vintage.

Big thanks to Pete and the vineyard crew for doing a great job in the vineyards throughout the year.

So, in summary it was a big and long vintage! Great to have achieved the quantity (and the quality) that we have. I am excited by the way the wines are turning out and look forward to guiding them into bottle over the coming year."

PAUL MASON, WINEMAKER.