Australian Vintage Report 1997

It was hardly the bonanza they were counting on, but Australian winemakers are heaving a collective sigh of relief as the 1997 vintage washes up. The lead-up to Summer was so healthy across the country that early expectations were well up on the 1996 record vintage of 885,000 tonnes, but erratic conditions thereafter reduced yields, especially for red wines. The first and second crops from newly planted vineyards saved the day, bumping up the national crop to a second highest ever pegging of 797,000 tonnes, but 9.8 lower than 1996.

With a massive 131,998 tonnes of chardonnay up from 98,372 tonnes and 100,119 tonnes of shiraz up from 87,684 tonnes, 1997 marks the first time in Australian wine history that the mark of 100,000 tonnes was passed by single premium varieties for winemaking. It’s worth reflecting that sultana is regularly well beyond that figure, but its 1997 crush of 114,038 tonnes for wine was 42.5 below its usage in the previous year. The 84,000 tonnes of sultana not used to make wine in 1997 virtually accounts for the entire reduction in Australia’s wine grape crop harvest.

Looking broadly at the entire continent, spring was healthy with good soil moisture levels and fine growing conditions. Cold and windy weather throughout the early to mid summer period, punctuated by rain, were ultimately followed by a long, hot summer in most Australian wine regions. Most of eastern Australia’s cool climate wine regions approached the 1997 season after a very wet winter and a very cool 1996 season which prompted very low bud fruitfulness. Poor fruit set after flowering made normal crop levels almost impossible to achieve.

New South Wales

A truly difficult Hunter Valley vintage frequently interrupted by extensive rain made 1997 a stop-start affair. The likely outcomes are traditionally low-alcohol regional semillon styles which may well live in the bottle for a long time, chardonnays that lack their customary weight and richness and reds which will struggle for quality and longevity.

The Riverina experienced the February-March heatwave, which tended to stop the development of ripening and delayed the red harvest well beyond normal timing. Those vineyards left to fully ripen red grapes in the 100 disease-free vintage achieved good depth and flavour, while earlier pickings are leaner and greener. The season remained a very dry one, producing chardonnay and semillon with excellent body and intensity. Expect late-harvest dessert semillons to have huge concentration and character after a very late onset of botrytis and mid-June harvest. Volumes are larger than usual.

Lacking the irrigation resources of many regions, Hilltops surrendered around 20 of its normal yield to the dryness of the summer, but managed to entirely avoid the extreme heat. Doug McWilliam reports magnificent quality with fully-ripened fruit, creating beautifully rich, dark red wines. He expects results similar to the sumptuous wines of 1996.

South Australia

With an incredible post-Christmas heatwave which propelled some vineyards in the warmer areas of McLaren Vale and the Barossa Valley to premature sugar ripeness, the early indications for South Australia’s 1997 vintage were nothing short of depressing. Sugar readings shot off the scale without much flavour to accompany them, while early red pickings were mushy and poor. Fortunately, but not fortunately enough for all regions, the season managed to improve dramatically from its dreadful beginnings.

Each week into the vintage required it to be re-rated, according to John Duval, Southcorp’s chief red winemaker. 1997 should now be considered and excellent year for Barossa shiraz, grenache and mouvedre, he says, while cabernet sauvignon looks good, but not up to the standard of 1996, ‘the Barossa’s best ever’. Shiraz is ‘stunning’ says Duval, while the red wines and fortified material made at Seppeltsfield are ‘magic’. Early picked McLaren Vale cabernet sauvignon was pretty ordinary, although later vineyards in this region appear to have made wines with typically honest richness and structure.

Later-ripening varieties and those planted in cooler regions were observed to ‘shut down’ during the worst of the heat, closing down the stomata in their leaves and waiting in limbo for a chance to get moving again. The opportunity came in March, an especially cool month, but it took time for vines to resume their normal ripening programme. It’s extraordinary to think that 1997 will go down as one of the latest in recent history, although the summer itself was one of the hottest on record.

Indian summer conditions throughout April provided perfect weather to mature the relatively low crops of red varieties still waiting their chance. Coonawarra shiraz responded particularly well and despite being exceptionally late, could be right back to top form. Expect similarly good reds from the Adelaide Hills and Eden Valley. Yields of Coonawarra cabernet are well down, but there should be some good wines made, although of the leafier style. Neighbouring Koppamurra should produce some exceptional red.

Tasmania

Its southerly latitude protected Tasmania from the extreme heat endured by most of southern Australia in January-February, initiating what should become recognised as one of the greatest vintages of all time in Tasmania. The wines reveal tremendous intensity of fruit, especially the white varieties and pinot noir.

Victoria

Southern Victoria experienced similar conditions to Tasmania, although the ten consecutive days above 35 degrees Celsius in February caused most vineyards in the Yarra Valley, Mornington Peninsula and central Victoria to begin to shut down and their leaves to begin to senescence. It’s hardly surprising that white wines lack their customary depth of flavour. The fact that they ripened two to three weeks later made all the difference with red varieties, helping them develop colour, tannin and flavour. Expect excellent Mornington Peninsula pinot noir and quite unusually, first-rate cabernet and shiraz from the Yarra Valley. Yields are so poor you could cry, the lowest on record for many growers

Central Victoria experienced a drought vintage, so availability of water was a critical factor. Expect better reds than whites, although yields are again well down on expectations. The Western Districts around Ararat and Great Western were fortunate not to experience the extremes in heat, so vineyards like Mount Langi Ghiran did not get hot enough to shut down, finishing the season on usual timing.

Western Australia

Western Australia’s crop was lower than expected, a direct result of a cold season in 1996 which left a higher proportion than usual of unfruitful buds, while poor weather during fruit set and dry conditions also affected most vineyards to some degree. Those with supplementary irrigation fared better.

Across the state, white wines appear to lack their customary intensity while the reds, being later to ripen, made wines of typical richness and depth. Expect powerful Margaret River reds and some excellent whites. Bunch weight for red wines was recorder considerably lower than usual, resulting in very high rations of tannin to juice and the likelihood of powerfully structured, deep, dark wine. Some of the region’s premier white vineyards like Pierro report a fine season for chardonnay with good intensity of flavour and balance at slightly lower alcohol levels than usual. Particularly windy spring weather hit many Margaret River vineyards hard at flowering, causing chardonnay crops to be even lower than normal.

Like many of Australia’s cooler regions in 1997, the Great Southern in WA had a split vintage, beginning with liberal amounts of heat and sun, causing some varieties like riesling to ripen well and quickly. Thereafter things virtually came to a halt under an extended spell of cool weather until late sunshine helped the last of the varieties to ripen properly. The outcome will be, according to John Wade, the best riesling vintage since the classic season of 1986. Expect good things from Great Southern chardonnay and sauvignon blanc, although the red wines could tend to lack some palate weight. Please login to post comment