VINTAGE NOTES

The 2021-2022 growing season was one of contrasts.  If wet weather is your thing, then calendar year 2021 was the year for you.  Moss Wood received 1440mm of rain, more than 40% above average.  We understand that we live in a relatively well-watered place but this was approaching the ridiculous.  That said, it’s probably a bit weak of us to complain given the very trying conditions experienced during the recent heavy rains and accompanying floods experienced in south eastern Australia.  Our slightly boggy vineyards were insignificant by comparison.

As winter turned to spring, cool, damp conditions continued to prevail right up to flowering, which was about a week late.  However, any concerns we had about the impact of inclement weather were quickly resolved when Mother Nature threw the switch to dry and the contrast began.  Having received 1417mm rain to end of October, only 23mm fell for the rest of the year.

Temperatures remained mild until the end of December which meant there were some cool nights.  During the Chardonnay flowering, the mercury dropped below 8°C on 6 occasions and for Sauvignon Blanc on 4, so conditions were relatively benign.  Both varieties recorded near average bunch weights.

The contrast went even further by Christmas.  We enjoyed nice warm days through December but nothing particularly hot.  On 25^th December our maximum reached 37.6°C and then on Boxing Day, we had our warmest day since 25^th February 1985, when we topped out at 41.2°C.  The heat then eased until mid-January, when we had another warm one of 40.1°C on 19^th but that signalled the end of the really warm weather.  From this point, we rolled into vintage enjoying warm clear days, with virtually no rain to interrupt things.

Despite the 2 bursts of heat, ripening was slow and steady and harvest dates were slightly behind average, with Sauvignon Blanc coming in 8 days late on 7^th March and Chardonnay came off on 17^th.

Our winemaking techniques for these wines continue to evolve.  In 2022, as with Moss Wood Semillon, both musts were clarified using flotation as opposed to cold settling.  In speeding things up, apart from significantly reducing our energy usage, this also reduces some of the oxidation associated with having juice waiting in tank for several days.  The net result is increased fruit freshness at the time of clarification and then stronger aromas in the finished wines.

It could be said that at Moss Wood we’re innovative traditionalists.  It sounds contradictory but by this we mean we’re happy to embrace new technologies, in both the vineyard and the winery, wherever we see a quality advantage over our traditional approach.  This meant, for example, when the research showed the clear quality benefits provided by the improved vine canopy of the Scott Henry trellis, we converted all our vineyards to that system.  In contrast, hand-plunging of small-batch, open fermenters continues to be the best process for extracting colour and flavour in red wines and it dates all the way back to our first vintage of Moss Wood Cabernet Sauvignon in 1973.  Nothing better has come along to replace it.

Returning to the point, flotation is not a new technology but until recently, it had only been a large-batch operation and suitable equipment was not available for small wineries.  That has now changed and we’ve happily embraced it.

For Ribbon Vale Chardonnay, our style requirement is somewhat clearer because we’ve accrued so much experience with Moss Wood.  At the same time, we’re still learning because the two vineyards are quite different and not all the historical knowledge is easily applied.  Nevertheless, our preference is for chardonnay’s riper fruit spectrum, with the emphasis on stone fruit and nuts and this occurs at just over 13% alcohol equivalent, which is similar to Moss Wood but here’s a curious thing.  Despite the vineyards being only one kilometre apart, Ribbon Vale ripens roughly 2 weeks later.  This, of course, makes it just that bit more challenging, while we wait and watch the weather, hoping things stay fine.

Our preferred ripeness for Sauvignon Blanc is now not less than 12.5 and not more than 13.0° Baume and with the 2022, we landed right in the middle.  That was either good luck, or good management, but we’ll take the latter.  Essentially, we want to pick the fruit green enough to provide zestiness but it still has to be ripe enough to provide generosity and weight on the palate.  It’s a delicate balancing act.