Vineyard and Winery Update | Vintage 2025

Read as PDF [download]

IN THE VINEYARD

The hot and dry conditions in Barossa this year have been challenging, but with thoughtful and precise use of irrigation we have been rewarded with some exceptional fruit.  

This season has been very dry, with rainfall down 38% off an already low base. This was coupled with warm conditions leading to our earliest ever harvest.

The vines woke up in spring with a bang, pushing growth rapidly, with canopies well developed by flowering. Vines were quite high in bunch numbers, but they always seem to adapt to the conditions and berry size was very small to account for this.

Knowing we would have a lot of heat through ripening meant we had to make some brave decisions to forego higher yields in some blocks, so that we had ample water to keep our premium blocks fresh and healthy to get the best quality possible.

The teeny berry size led to some kooky chemistry through ripening, but patience was rewarded as the heat eventually eased and allowed the vines to settle into a more typical pattern for the last couple of weeks before we harvested.  

VINTAGE 2025 WRAP FROM JULES

What a whirlwind vintage 2025 has been! As I write this we are watching our malolactic fermentations tick through in the winery. Our weekend work has ceased, and I have even had time to purchase Easter Eggs well ahead of Good Friday, so I actually had choice this year!

Spring 2024 came with a nasty frost which knocked out decent crops in the northern Barossa. We were very fortunate at Greenock to avoid any damage, owing to our elevation and sloping site. We were hit at Nuriootpa which has resulted in lower yields, but with amazing fruit concentration.

We had a little rain some time in October, perfect timing with budburst complete and vineyards doing exactly as they would normally. Then the rain stopped.

Watering became priority #1 and I am pleased to say that we managed to keep our vineyards going! Fortunately, not laden with a large crop, the vines were able to manage with warm days and warm nights and a very, very dry outlook.

Fast forward to early 2025 and as we began sampling, we realised that everything was going to come in at a similar time.

We have had to be very careful this year not to pick according to numbers, rather relying on how our fruit is tasting and looking on the vine. Picking decisions were difficult with no relief in the weather.

Our normal picking sequence was certainly thrown out in 2025 with some varieties not enjoying the warmer nights and ripening ahead of what we normally see.  

Our final picking day for Elderton comprised of Greenock Grenache for our GSM (normally an early pick) and Craneford Cabernet Sauvignon (normally our last pick over a month later), which goes to show what a different style of vintage it was.

We are really happy with what we have in the cellar. The perfume on our new wines is amazing and there is a vitality to the fruit profile which we love.

We are only now seeing the rewards of going in early and hard, and now our vines can enjoy a long autumn and winter dormancy to recover from the demands of a hot ripening season.

As we mark our 44th vintage, 2025 will be one of the driest and earliest vintages on record!

A highlight for V25 at this early stage is definitely our Helbig 1915 Shiraz, dry grown and picked earlier than ever, the vitality and freshness backed up with the Helbig grunt is exceptional.

Having recently released our 2024 Grenaches from Mengler Hill and Greenock, we are really excited about our 2025 harvests from these blocks, showing the vineyard typicity we are looking for, slipping effortlessly into their slot at this early stage.

And 2025 Command will be one to savour, with low volumes but already showing it is definitely going to be a stand out!