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2002 vintage report for Clare Valley (South Australia)

The Clare Valley vintage shows all the signs of being one of the best ever. Vintage started late in an autumn that was warmer and drier than usual. Fruit was picked in extremely good condition with higher than average Baume levels, high natural acid and wonderful flavours. Riesling, Shiraz, Cabernet Sauvignon and Semillon all looked brilliant.
Very good winter rains were followed by a cool spring with good rainfall, a very cool summer and a dry, warm autumn that enabled fruit to ripen and show impressive flavour profiles. There were problems with fruitset in some varieties due to cool, wet and windy conditions at flowering with Malbec and Merlot being most affected. Riesling yields were also down 20 to 30% on average.
As a result of the late start, vintage was compressed somewhat and for many it was hectic through the middle part. Even so, vintage proceeded smoothly with good communication between wineries, grapegrowers and contractors.
Peter Barry, chairman of the Clare Valley Winemakers Inc, said winemakers were impressed with the fruit this year.
‘There is great concentration, depth of flavour and varietal character,’ he said.
‘The reds have amazing colour and this showed in vineyards quite soon after veraison. Shiraz and Cabernet Sauvignon are impressive with the latter being very attractive and one of the highlights. Riesling is showing fruit purity, depth of flavour, fineness and structure that one associates with the highest quality.
‘Semillon and Chardonnay are also showing good varietal character and are finer than usual. Phenological ripeness in whites was much more in line with sugar ripeness than in reds where late development of flavours was a feature. This led to some high Baumes and higher than usual alcohol levels in some reds.
‘The wines are still to evolve but the early signs are very encouraging indeed with many winemakers of the opinion that some will be the best wines to ever come out of Clare.’