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2008 vintage report for Mildura (VIC)

By Farrell Estate Wines
On behalf of the Mildura wine region

The 2008 vintage in Mildura had ideal conditions. The weather supplied great ripening conditions for the grapes this year. The January mean temperature of 33.7°C was slightly warmer than 2007, however, not as hot as 2006. February and March were slightly cooler, allowing better conditions for the final stages of ripening.

Farrell Estate Wines was able to hand pick its fruit, therefore selecting only the best quality fruit for the wines.

Vintage commenced with the third crop from ‘3 acre’ Chardonnay vineyard, harvested on 26 January, two weeks earlier than previous years. The fruit was excellent with harvest taking place when flavour was at its optimum.

Our red varieties ripened very quickly with our Merlot, Shiraz and Cabernet Sauvignon all ripening within two weeks of each other and the majority coming in together. We were very lucky to have all our grapes for table wine off before the hot days that we experienced in early March. Therefore, we did not have any issues with soaring Baumé levels. All varieties are showing excellent colour, ripe, firm tannins and superb fruit characters. The Cabernet Sauvignon this year is looking exceptional. Farrell Estate Wines has made it through a vintage most would call tough, but with water allocation, the region has produced volumes equivalent to the 2006 vintage and within the marketing forecast.

The hot days in March allowed for excellent ripening conditions of the winegrapes for fortified wine production, as the grapes had the cooler conditions to produce strong fruit characters. The hot spell allowed the Baumé to increase to desired levels.