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2001 vintage report for Swan District (Western Australia)

Vintage started slightly early, but not abnormally so. Yields increased by 10% in a very good season, where some vineyards reported increases of up to 30% with no drop in quality. Weather during vintage was hot and very dry. ‘The heat helped to keep disease out but with no rain for eight months water stress was bad in some areas,’ said David Atkinson, secretary of the Swan Valley and Regional Winemakers Association. Describing the 2001 vintage for reds, David said the wines had intense flavour and colour without the very high alcohols sometimes shown in the Swan District. They also exhibited good fruit intensity. It was an average year for whites. Flavours were good but acids lower than normal. The lack of rain meant the fruit arrived at the wineries in good and clean condition. David said the increased quantity in this season meant that throughout the Swan District there was a much higher need for storage capacity. ‘The majority of wineries maximised all possible storage and in some cases there was not enough room for the fruit coming in. There were no other major problems with infrastructure — there has been a lot of recent investment in the Swan District and processing capacities have been increased and improved over the past 3-4 vintages,’ he said.