"I challenge you to find a better wine for the price!"

Henschke, 2005.

This was my first vintage in the Barossa and I still remember walking into the cellars at 7am on the first day. As you walk into the ancient buildings you notice that the temperature drops, it drops because you are surrounded my stone and carefully created cellars, but it highlights the fact that it is hot outside, hot and dry.

Godfrey, 2011.

Seven years on now to the day and as I look out my winery door I can see sleet and the wind racing through the trees. It reminds me of the last time I was in Sauterne and it could not be more different to any of the last 6 vintages. There has been a great deal written about the 2011 vintage already and much of it is wineries scrambling to protect their wines as irresponsible journalists write off the entire crop. The truth is that it was wet vintage, it rained when it wasn't supposed to and the temperatures remained moderate creating an environment that was not conducive to ripen Shiraz to the usual powerful levels. So the reds will be a little lighter this year. I still picked much of my red fruit over 13.5 Baume and it looks excellent, just more elegant and restrained than in previous years. This should be cause for celebration as the alcohols are lower and if you believe the Press, the Australian consumer wants lower alcohol wines. They will certainly get it this year, but I doubt the Press will be happy about it. No one wants to read a moderate and sensible view of the industry, the Press want sensationalize the vintage and that does very little for anyone.

Of course there is more to any vintage that just one variety and the cooler weather this year created the perfect conditions for Chardonnay. Again lower in alcohol, but the concentration of minerality in sparkling base was world class and this flowed through to the unwooded Chardonnay styles which are lean and austere, something that Barossa Chardonnay is not normally known for. Both styles of Chardonnay will live for a very long time and are a real treat to sample.

I only made a small parcel of Riesling this year and it was for a client, but the vineyards that escaped the rain's blooming cousin Botrytis managed to exude crisp varietal lime characters. Again they were leaner than usual, with a higher concentration of organic acids and again they will live for a long, long time. I tasted the 2011 Henschke Peggy's Hill Riesling yesterday and it is awesome.

The other champion in the Barossa this vintage was Cabernet Sauvignon. This wondrous variety normally hides in the shadow of Shiraz, but this vintage it thrived in the climatic conditions of Southern Bordeaux. The wines are not green and lean, they are opulent and rich, while showing a concentration of tannin that is less than usual, but somehow more appealing. Like the whites, these wines will live for a long time and once we release them from oak they will be sure to impress.

After vintages like this I think it is helpful to remember that we are not in the business of making socks. Our wines do not and will not ever be the same from year to year. We are at the mercy of the Gods and thankfully from time to time they remind us why we grow and make varieties other than Shiraz. I don't speak for any other wineries beyond my own and I certainly don't represent the region, but as vintage ended there were many vineyards that remained unharvested as the fruit quality was not good enough. All this means is that we are careful what we pick and if it is not good enough it does not come to the winery.