Vineyard and Winery Update – September 2024
Vintage 2024 wrap from Jules
Despite the mild conditions of 2023, spring 2023 didn’t arrive with abundant rainfall. Budburst came upon us quickly, and much to the delight of some rogue sheep who were able to snack on a few early shoots in the season! Fear not, gates were promptly shut and the sheep were back to their grass.
Early season we needed to respond quickly to water demand with the sudden surge in active shoot growth. Getting water at depth was crucial to establishing a healthy canopy and hence crop load. Careful canopy management incorporating shoot thinning and catch wires helped to stabilize the vines and allow for some sun penetration to growing bunches without over exposing fruit.
Maturity wise, the season was far from normal. Yields were harder to predict as a result of the early start and varied water demands, coupled with a longer than usual flowering period. We had a single hot burst in the middle of March after which our unharvested blocks took a few days to bounce back. Otherwise, mild temperatures prevailed giving us the luxury of easy harvest planning.
We are really happy with the quality from vintage 2024, low yielding with some really exceptional wines. Grenache is a standout, from both Greenock and Mengler Hill. Riesling and Cabernet Sauvignon also super. Shiraz is very solid, with an amazing fruit depth and length of tannin. We have so many delicious small parcels of Shiraz that it is impossible to pick favourites as yet! Our Chardonnay is still in oak and promising to be delicious, ready for bottling towards the end of this year.
In the Vineyard
Despite decent rainfall in late July, it was such a dry winter, with only 32% of our 10 year average rainfall to the end of July. This meant we were irrigating throughout winter to ensure the vines have enough water as they came out of dormancy.
We’ve been establishing a permanent sward cover crop in the mid-rows at Nuriootpa with a blend of grasses, medics and clovers. These shade out weeds in the mid-row and supply most of the nitrogen the vines need when we mow them.
In June Conrad planted over 300 natives behind cellar door. This is on top of what we’ve already established along the fence line around the young cabernet blocks. There are several different trees, shrubs, grasses and ground covers, which will encourage beneficial insects, birds (that don’t feed on grapes) and pollinators. Over the next couple of years we will continue to expand on these plantings so there are connected strips throughout the vineyard acting as a wildlife corridor around the site.
We look set for an exceedingly early budburst across all four vineyards, with Greenock emerging mid-August.
We finished pruning at Greenock and Mengler Hill in mid-July and moved onto Nuriootpa in late July with Craneford pruned last. We prune Nuriootpa and Craneford late as it inhibits budburst on the lower buds that are left after pruning, so they are protected for more of the frost period.
Story from our newsletter, the Elderton Buzz – September 2024 edition
