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2009 vintage report for Barossa Valley (South Australia)

Contributed by Elise Heyes, viticultural development officer, Barossa Grape & Wine Association, and Juliet Henderson, Barossa Viticulture Technical Group

Growing season: Budburst in the Barossa was approximately two weeks later than the previous two seasons, indicating that phenology was on par with the timing of a normal season. The budburst was uneven for many varieties with much variation in ripening within and between bunches.

Climatic conditions were ideal for flowering and set with mild and calm weather, however, there was some shatter in Shiraz and Grenache. All the white and most red grape varieties in the Barossa had completed veraison by the last week of January. This coincided with the start of a two-week heatwave where maximum temperatures averaged 39oC and soared to 44oC on the Saturday at the end of the first week of February.

Harvest began during the heatwave, with Sauvignon Blanc and Chardonnay ripening at a rapid pace. Exposed bunches from these earlier varieties were burnt severely due to the intense heat. Vines that did not receive adequate irrigation prior to the onset of the heatwave and/or were on heavier soil types became severely heat stressed with sunburnt fruit and defoliation.

Eden Valley suffered less damage across all varieties, with the timing of veraison later than the Barossa and the moderately cooler conditions resulted in healthy canopies. March and April were warm and mild and resulted in gradual ripening and excellent flavour development in the remaining red varieties in the Barossa and Eden Valley.

There was minimal disease throughout the Barossa. Isolated pockets of powdery mildew and lightbrown apple moth caused some damage, particularly in the Eden Valley.

Vintage: The 2009 vintage period began late in January, two weeks later than the previous two vintages. The ripening was initially rapid for the earlier varieties such as Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc, however, after the heatwave, ripening stalled and there was a lag period of about a week before the majority of the Shiraz, Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot were harvested during mid-March. The remainder of the vintage was gradual with Shiraz in Eden Valley picked during the first week of April. Generally, the 2009 vintage was slow with lower yields harvested over a longer period.

Yields and quality: In the Barossa, the yields were generally low for Shiraz, Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot. Riesling, Semillon and earlier-ripening Shiraz blocks generally showed good intensity and quality across the region but some parcels had reduced flavour intensity and cooked characteristics as a result of the extreme hot weather.

Shiraz picked later in the season was of high quality with good flavour concentration, but also low yielding. Despite Cabernet Sauvignon having a reduced canopy size to previous years, the fruit showed excellent flavour development and has performed well this year.

Early picked Sauvignon Blanc from the Barossa showed excellent varietal character, while Viognier looked healthy in the vineyard; it was generally less varietal and lacking flavour this year. Grenache suffered minimally from the heatwave with exceptional canopies, full bunches and reasonable to large yields and have resulted in average quality wines.

The Eden Valley standout varieties were Riesling and Shiraz, with minimal heat damage, gradual ripening and generally low crop levels resulting in excellent quality this year. Chardonnay was very low yielding from this region and has performed very well in the winery, while Cabernet Sauvignon was reasonable in its crop levels, slow ripening and with concentrated flavours.