SNOWBALL WINE NEWS
January 2007
The 2005/06 growing season presented great challenges to Margaret River vineyards, with an unusually cool, windy and at times wet summer. Poor conditions at the time of flowering meant poor fruit set and resultant small bunches and low yields. However, with low yields and an unusually long ripening period, some exceptional fruit was produced. Wines produced will be slightly different and more nuanced in character. Margaret River white wines from 2006 vintage will be remarkable. I'd look out for the Chardonnays from 2006, especially the top vineyards such as Leeuwin, Pierro and Cullens. Many vineyards had great difficulty ripening their red fruit and it is said that it could be as much as 80% of red fruit across the district was not able to be picked. Very focused vine management was essential. Those who were successful though, have some really interesting wine coming along. We were very pleased that all our fruit ripened well and the Merlot was exceptional.
The 2006/07 season is progressing perfectly; so perfectly, that the fruit development in Margaret River is generally two weeks ahead of normal. The fruit looks fantastic. Once again, our Merlot has gone exceptionally well. Merlot is a variety well known to have difficulties with its viticulture, but the Snowball vineyard meso-climate (site-specific climate) and Bordeaux-like soils seem to particularly favour it. So we are really excited about this vintage. 2004 Bordeaux blend
The flavours and aromatic character of this wine have been praised by a number of experts, including at a recent assessment by Master of Wine, Paul McArdle. We've also had compliments by wine writer Ray Jordan, Picardy vigneron Bill Pannell and Malcolm Jones of Brookland Valley vineyard. According to John Jens, wine writer and consultant.... "this fruit is extremely good for four year old vines and as they mature you have the potential, with fruit from this site, to make a top wine of this style.... "this 2004 wine will still be good in ten years". According to Michael Langridge, one of the winemakers of the Baudin collection from Woodside Valley Estate.... " this wine is really showing some of that Bordeaux character"......"it is a bit different (from other Australian reds), and I like that". So do we!
We probably released this wine a bit early but it is currently "looking" really good, particularly an hour or so after decanting.
This vintage was recently chosen for the wine lists of two of Perth’s leading restaurants, Balthazar Bar Restaurant and Must Winebar, both of whom boast outstanding wine collections.
2005 vintage
Wine from this vintage has recently been bottled and is due for release later this year.
Merlot is again the dominant variety, but it has a little more Cabernet sauvignon and is a little "denser"....a little more "weight" on the palate. Although the varietal proportions are different from 2004, it has the same interesting characters and again has beautiful fresh fruit coming through.
2006 vintage
This will probably be our best wine to date. The Merlot fruit is rich and the franc quite aromatic (a product of the long ripening). We are looking forward to the release of this wine in 2008.
We still have a reasonable supply of 2004 wine available. |
