Harvest 2009 Report
The 2009 vintage year started with a usually wet winter and a successful budburst in spring. This was followed by a warm and dry summer which resulted in a near perfect flowering. However, a cold and wet February slowed things down a little. But the dry, warm and windy conditions that followed alleviated any disease pressure.

After this small glitch, the settled weather returned through to harvest. In typical Marlborough style the long autumn months of March and April with warm days and cool nights provided the required slow ripening for amazing fruit maturation.

Due to the cold spell in February, the harvest was delayed a little bit. We started picking the Pinot noir early April and finished with the whites end of April. It was a long harvest for us.

A rain free vintage not only means a superior vintage but also an easier vintage for the winery. We could wait for optimum ripeness, take our time and really enjoy it.

Paul ( a cellar hand from Alsace) who came last year as well, said that 2009 didn’t really feel like a vintage, it was too cruisy!

One very exciting news is that we made our first Viognier and our first Syrah/viognier co-fermented. They are both in barrels at the moment and are tasting pretty special.

Intensity and texture will characterise 2009.

Cheers,
Swan