2026 Vintage– a long and winding road
We will always look back on the 2026 harvest as the end point of a long and winding journey. Along a path of many extremes, unexpected twists and unforeseen turns. One definitely worth taking as the rewards are clearly evident. Beautiful wines of impressive deep colour, great structure and elegant flavour.
Rainfall was again a hot topic of discussion throughout 2025. We walk a fine line in the Barossa when it comes to sufficient rainfall to sustain healthy vines in our warm and dry Mediterranean climate. Relying heavily on persistent winter and spring rains to sustain the vines through the dry summer ripening and autumn harvest period. Winter rainfalls in 2025 were lower than usual, and although we fared better in Spring, the Barossa region recorded 30% less rain than the long-term average – continuing a pattern that has prevailed for much of the last decade. Our recent investments in dams on the Estate therefore again proved invaluable providing supplementary water as required to maintain vine health and balance.
A cold, windy and wet November led to a very elongated period of flowering and fruit set. In contrast, December and January we’re quite hot and dry which prolonged veraison as berries began to ripen. Mild and dry conditions proved the perfect antidote to the challenging conditions preceding, allowing the fruit to then ripen very slowly. Patience became the order of the day, and we harvested our Shiraz blocks over a one-month period commencing in mid-March with Block 5 and ending in the third week of April. The Viognier was harvested on 13 February, with recent changes in vineyard management producing a good crop of larger, juicy berries that we feel will produce one of our best Viognier wines to date.
The 2026 Shiraz harvest yielded intensely pigmented wines showing great flavour concentration and the classic velvet like tannin profile our red wines are renowned for. As we sit back to enjoy the stunning colours laid out like a patchwork over the Barossa vineyard landscape, the wines are now resting in barrels for extended maturation in the winery cellar for the next few years.