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2008 vintage report for Great Southern (Western Australia)

By John Sprigg
Chairman
Great Southern Wine Producers’ Association

Vintage 2008 began early in the Great Southern, in the last week of February, as opposed to beginning most years in the second week of March.

An early burst of very hot and humid weather seemed to signal most varieties to ripen quickly. Fortunately, after four days the weather reverted to a more normal pattern for the time of the year, with mild, warm days and chilly nights.

The change of temperature slowed the ripening pattern, and while it was still early by about a week to 10 days, there was a respectable distance between ripening for the different varieties.

Initially, wine producers were concerned about the lack of sub-soil moisture from the previous below average winter and spring.

At the time of writing, I had the pleasure of tasting some of the new season’s whites that were almost ready to bottle. This year’s wines are exciting and similar to the 2005 vintage, which was exceptional in the Great Southern region.

One thing that characterises both the whites and reds are the flavours and, overall, the alcohol levels of the wines are far lower than in recent vintages.

Cropping levels were slightly lower than average across the region. In the cross-section of wine producers I spoke to, most said they produced about 75% of the normal long-term average per acre. Producers and winemakers are happy with the end result.