Harvesting 1793 tonnes across six varietals, a mix of hand and machine picks. This year we were dealt a hand unseen in 90 years, with just 161mm of rain from September to April unexpectedly low against the long-term average of 337mm.
Yet, despite the dry landscape with the hottest and driest season on record, harvest 2024 has been straightforward with super clean fruit, untouched by disease. A short, intense ripening period, fuelled by low crops and the warmth of El Niño, our grapes have concentrated flavours. We chased sugar and acid balance, making picking decisions with precision, ensuring our fruit reached its peak without venturing into over ripeness.
Winemakers Emily Gaspard-Clark, and Ashley Stace, along with Adam McCone our viticulturist, and the team are very excited about the potential resulting wines.
Picking commenced on February 28th, with the Pinot Noir for our Echelon Sparkling Rosé. Most of our fruit, however, found its way to our presses and into our hands between the 12th and 25th of March, a fleeting window of opportunity. We embrace a vintage that was remarkably calm and stress-free. With light crops and favourable weather, our vineyard and winery teams worked early mornings and late nights, their efforts ensuring a seamless transition from vineyard to cellar.
As our wines begin to unveil their personalities. Sauvignon Blanc from the free draining soils is showing finesse and texture, with rounded acid and flavours in the mineral and stone fruit spectrum. Our Sauvignon Blanc from blocks on heavier soils provide an excellent counterbalance, with crisp acidity and classic flavours of capsicum and passionfruit.
Our aromatic varietals - Pinot Gris, Gewurztraminer, and Riesling - sing with intensity, each note a testament to meticulous care. With a higher crop of Gewurztraminer, we indulged in the luxury of picking each clone separately, allowing their individuality to shine.
Chardonnay is resting in our French oak barrels, most of the way through ferment now and tasting ripe and fresh, we have a few different parcels to play with when it comes to deciding what to let go through malolactic fermentation later in the year.
While our Pinot Noirs have mostly finished ferment and are sitting in barrel ready for malolactic fermentation to happen in Spring. They have great colour and bright fruit, so we are looking forward to seeing where these are headed.
In the vineyard we patiently await the pick of our late harvest grapes, concentrating and drying under the sun's gentle care. Meanwhile in the quiet of our winery our cellar prepares for the blending of our 2024 vintage wines.
Now we wait for the moment when we can share these wines from a remarkable vintage that captures the essence of Spy Valley in every bottle.
Visit our YouTube Channel for the 2024 Spy Valley harvest video:
www.youtube.com/@spyvalleywines
