After hanging up our boots from the 2022 vintage, we had one of the best breaks to the season in memory with 92mm of rain in May enabling vines to go dormant with good carbohydrate reserve. Winter rainfall was slightly below average because of a dry July and then it rained, flat out! Leading into the growing season, Spring 2022 was 220% above average, soil moisture profiles were full, and creeks ran from the run-off. Fortunately, for us at Schubert Estate, our flowering and fruit set conditions were near perfect, resulting in even bunch formation and a fast verasion. Summer and early Autumn of 2023 were drier and cooler than average, delivering comfortable conditions for vines to evenly ripen. Phenolic ripeness came early, and without significant heat events we had the luxury of hanging bunches on the vine to ripen evenly, which culminated in bright fruit characters with good concentration, resulting in rich, vibrant wines with outstanding colour. These wines will be a joy to work with through the balance of the winemaking journey and will no doubt produce great wines of considerable cellaring potential.
