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2012 vintage report for McLaren Vale (South Australia)

McLaren Vale experienced a relatively early start and finish to its 2012 vintage, with the first grapes harvested in the first week of February. Most of the grapes were picked by the end of the first week in April. According to McLaren Vale’s Sami Gilligan, from Gilligan Consulting, and Derek Cameron, from DJ Growers, the region experienced relatively mild to warm days over the ripening period.
“Nights have been cool, culminating in great ripening conditions. We did have three rain events during harvest, but no significant disease problems occurred,” Gilligan said.
Overall, Gilligan and Cameron suggest yields are about 20-30% down on average.
“This has been due to a combination of lower yields because of smaller berries and bunch sizes, but also growers looking toward lower target yields for improved grape quality,” Cameron said.
In 2011 vintage was about 46,000 tonnes (38,000t red and 8000t white). This year, an early count suggests both Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc are down by about 20-30%, which could see around 5000t of white grape harvest from McLaren Vale.
McLaren Vale’s red harvest is also expected to drop, with the largest falls in yield affecting the high grade A and B Shiraz and Cabernet yields. Some growers recorded on average between 20-50% drops. C-grade blocks were less affected but still 10-15% down.
Cameron said the region was expecting about 30,000t from its red harvest. With less grapes and higher quality (particularly compared with 2011) the region has also experienced growing demand. Winemaker feedback across the board is pointing to a “higher than normal wine colour and good depth of flavour”.

Source: Australian & New Zealand Grapegrower & Winemaker May 2012