Australian Vintage Report 2002

A difficult start to a late, dry season left many Australian growers ecstatic, but just as many were left wondering why on earth they entered the game. The season of 2002 was an un-Australian vintage in which many of the warmer regions made ‘cool climate’ wines, but in which many of the cooler areas struggled even to ripen the most pitiful of yields. Griffith’s bonanza was nothing short of disaster in regions like the Mornington Peninsula, where a significant number of growers did not even bother attempting to harvest their virtually non-existent crops.
On the surface of it, 2002 was a success. Australia cropped an incredible 1.65 million tonnes, a substantial increase on last year’s record of 1.43 million tonnes. Reds now account for 58 of the intake, a huge increase on the 38 of just four years ago, reflecting the extraordinary amount of recent plantings. The shiraz harvest was up by around 10 million cases of wine and this variety now represents more than a quarter of the country’s plantings. Poor cabernet sauvignon yields in cooler climates reflected in only a modest increase in its harvest volume in 2002, but merlot has jumped to total 105,000 tonnes, to about 6 of the national crop.

The season commenced with a very cool start to spring and summer, manifesting itself as very ordinary, bad weather in the cooler regions south of the Great Dividing Range and across the country in the more southerly Western Australian regions. Flowering was adversely affected in a number of cool regions, as cold, wet weather and wet soils led to some of the worst fruit set in history. The further south, generally speaking, the worse it became.

While summer and autumn were dry, the heat that characterised years like 2001 and 2000 never arrived, so in the south of the country vineyards were desperately challenged even to ripen their dramatically reduced yields. It always bothers me to hear so many winemakers talking up the quality of low-yielding vintages like this, since experience suggests that good years tend to talk for themselves.

Low yields certainly do not automatically equate to improved quality, and I certainly expect to observe physiologically under-ripe characters across a number of highly respected cool climate regions. Nevertheless, in seasons like 2002 factors like age of vines, crop load and vineyard management certainly show through, and the best, less exposed vineyards with good soils will probably save the day for their makers.
Strangely, 2002 may be the very vintage that shores up Australia’s reputation for high quality cheaper wine, since the inland river areas of Griffith, Sunraysia and the Riverlands all experienced a long, late and cooler summer than usual which promoted excellent flavour development and healthy yields. There is no reason why this vintage should not make Australian wine even more competitive on the export market.

New South Wales

Rains towards the end of the white harvest, but prior to the reds, affected several NSW regions, especially the Lower Hunter Valley, where the best wines are from semillon and chardonnay. Shiraz is typically medium-weight, while the Upper Hunter produced reds with more density and structure. Cowra’s vintage was smaller than average, but later crops were rain-affected. Mudgee produced some fine semillons and reds of richness and quality, usually from older and lower-yielding vineyards. By way of contrast, Griffith experienced one of its best-ever seasons.

South Australia

A warm Indian summer not only got warmer regions like the Barossa Valley and McLaren Vale out of jail after a wet, cold start to the season, but may actually have produced some special wines, albeit finer and more elegant than is typical for these regions. Barossa chardonnay and semillon are more flavoursome and refined than usual, while shiraz is the pick of the reds. Yields are close to normal. Expect similar trends in McLaren Vale, with herbal, berry-like reds of fine tannins and restraint. Langhorne Creek looks especially promising, while Clare had an exceptional vintage for reds and whites. Some of the 2002 Clare and Eden Valley rieslings, ripened later than usual, are superb. The Adelaide Hills had a tough time ripening reduced crops, but should produce good sparkling bases. A late harvest of small yields in Coonawarra, Padthaway and the rest of the Limestone Coast produced concentrated berry-like reds and crisp, aromatic whites of excellent acidity. The Riverlands enjoyed a ‘once in a lifetime’ season.

Tasmania

Affected by the same poor spring weather that reduced most cool region crops, Tasmania was however able to escape with an excellent vintage, but a small one except in the cases of chardonnay and sauvignon blanc. The Indian summer saved the day, and most vineyards actually reported an earlier vintage than normal. Pinot noir will be scarce but excellent.

Victoria

It was tough going for vineyards south of the Great Divide in Victoria. Not only did the Yarra Valley have to deal with exceptionally poor flowering and fruit set, but dramatic hail in October wiped out a large area of vineyards. The fruit that did ripen should produce good crisp whites and lighter-bodied reds. Some pinot noir, from exceptionally poor yields, could be very interesting. The Mornington Peninsula’s vintage, along with that of much of the Macedon Ranges, was nightmarishly small. Geelong also experienced a small, but acceptable vintage. Water supply was a huge determinant on wine quality around the central Victorian areas of Heathcote, Bendigo and the Pyrenees, but healthy vineyards produced concentrated and fully ripened crops. Like Sunraysia, the North East enjoyed a good season for more elegant expressions of table wine. It was not a great year for muscat or tokay!

Western Australia

A combination of poor weather during flowering and an extended drought over much of the state greatly reduced yields across Western Australia, especially in the cooler regions. It was the sort of cool, difficult season in which the earlier-ripening varieties were best equipped to ripen properly, so the best wines are most likely to come from merlot, sauvignon blanc, riesling and chardonnay. Margaret River did best with reds, especially merlot and shiraz, while its chardonnays are finer and tighter than usual. It was a marvellous year for Great Southern riesling, while sauvignon blanc and merlot performed best in Pemberton/Manjimup. The Swan Valley’s vintage was better for table than fortified wines. Please login to post comment