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2001 vintage report for Gippsland (Victoria)

Graham Scott of the Gippsland Grapegrowers & Winemakers Association provided the following report with a range of news from the subregions:South Gippsland, usually buffeted by late winds and rain, has been blessed this year. Gr’me Wilson from Windy Ridge was ecstatic about his Pinot Noir. Leaving it on after the rain resulted in extra flavours, extraordinary colour and 14% alcohol. Cropping at just over 1 tonne per acre, this is potentially one of the best in quality. Cabernet Sauvignon and Malbec gained similarly in flavours and colour, with the pH holding on at 3.5 and 3.35 respectively. Alcohol was 12.0, with good flavours. In the vineyard there was only a small loss to mould damage, mainly in the softer skinned Malbec. The Traminer cropped low, and has been part of an experiment to gain better flavours by keeping a small portion on skins for a few days. Mich’l Bentley from Phillip Island reported that tonnage was up in a year that was good but not great. About 10% of the Chardonnay had botrytis and was picked at 34 Brix, so that became a sticky. The Merlot picked at 25 Brix with good yield and intensity and the Sauvignon Blanc had a good yield after a low in 2000. Owen Schmidt from Lyre Bird Hill processed a record quantity in 2001 and was reasonably happy with the overall quality. The rain in March and April affected grape quality and sugar levels, with brown rot quite prevalent in later varieties. In East Gippsland the very dry summer with hot days and warmer than usual nights produced wines with more fat and less finesseùthe Pinot Gris is the pick. This year it was barrel fermented with a very short ‘on skins’ period. As a lightly wooded wine this is a very distinctive High Country style. The local reds are fuller and more rounded, very unlike cool climate styles this year, but the colour and varietal flavours should leave no doubt that this is a great season. The High Country Gippsland autumn looked dodgy for a while with about 4 hours of sunlight for a week or two. Although close to panic, winemakers held off picking and the extra time rewarded them with an extraordinary Cabernet. Central Gippsland had a great start in spring and fruitset was excellent. The long warm to hot summer was leading to a very early vintage until March rains set back the sugar and acid levels. Vintage was still about a week to 10 days early. With new plantings coming on stream the crop tonnage remained about the same, although hard pruning reduced the load on older vines, giving better flavours and deep colour.