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2005 vintage report for Mount Barker (Western Australia)

The seasonal conditions opened to a cool flowering period followed by a long and warm to hot summer with little or no rainfall of significance until mid February when most thin-skinned varieties (Semillon, Pinot, etc.) had already been harvested. However, some Shiraz was susceptible to splitting from an average recorded rainfall of 17 mm on 14 February.
Due to the high temperatures recorded in January most harvest dates were forward on previous years with the last of the Cabernet and Shiraz harvested in March.
Although no exact crush figures are available, it is known that most wineries crushed about the same or less material as in 2004.
Small boutique operations are known to be scaling down the size of their crush to meet lower consumer demand and a downturn in tourist numbers within the region. High prices ($1,250-$1,700 tonne) for Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc remained for contract growers with no known available excess material. Red varieties suffered from poor demand with much material being left or dropped to the ground in some instances.