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2005 vintage report for Perricoota (Victoria)

The 2005 vintage in Perricoota was dominated by southerly winds causing a cooler-than-average summer. The milder weather has been ideal for flavour development, and has allowed Perricoota to produce high quality wine this season. The slow ‘flavour ripening’ experienced was not always correlated with slow ‘sugar ripening’, and in many cases (especially in red varieties) the grapes needed to be harvested at higher-than-normal Baume levels. This was essential to ensure that the green tannins and flavours had been replaced with ripe fruit flavours.
The growing season was influenced by two major storm events, one in November and the second in February. The November storm contained hail, and most blocks in Perricoota experienced some sort of damage. However, the vines were at their most resistant to hail, having full canopies with berries still hard and green, and to the best of our knowledge there was no damage severe enough to warrant an insurance claim. The major effects this storm had was, one, poor fruit set in late varieties such as Cabernet and, two, larger berries, due to the large amount of rain falling as growers were trying to implement some water stress to reduce berry size. The February storm had a much greater impact, with high rainfall (100 mm) causing split berries in many varieties, thus creating an entry point for botrytis. The severe winds caused damage to trellises, and with heavy crop loads on most blocks, proved time consuming to repair.
Pest and diseases were more of an issue than normal in 2005. Other than small amounts of lightbrown apple moth, there was no pest and disease issue until the storm in February. After the storm, split berries allowed botrytis to spread on bunches. This was generally contained through sprays and hand removal of infected bunches. The milder and more humid conditions experienced created perfect conditions for powdery mildew. The majority of blocks only had infections on the leaves due to effective spray programs earlier in the season.
In general, the 2005 vintage was successful in Perricoota. The region produced approximately 4500 tonnes of fruit off 900 acres, with the main varieties being Chardonnay, Semillon, Merlot, Shiraz, Cabernet Sauvignon, Grenache and Mataro. The yields were mostly up on previous vintages and the quality of wine appears at this early stage to be high.