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2009 Harvest Update

Vintage, Harvest, Crush – call it what you will – it has finally started in earnest. And it is different.

The greatest influence on the harvest has been the recent growing season (August 2008 to February 2009).

We experienced a cold, late winter. Then September arrived much, much cooler and wetter than the long-term average recordings. The vineyards just stopped growing, tendrils suspended in mid-air, sap sucked back into the quietness of soil. As a result, the entire vintage is between seven and 20 days late.

This is the latest vintage I have ever experienced. Luckily it has also been dry and warm over January and February. In fact, there is a heatwave warning for this weekend. The warm, dry few months mean the fruit is extremely healthy. The problem is that it is all starting to ripen at the same time.

Shiraz seems to be the most affected by the wintry September, resulting in extremely uneven ripeness. We’ve worked through our Shiraz vineyards, vine by vine, bunch by bunch, cutting off the green bunches as the vineyards started to colour up.

In this way we have ensured even ripeness, so at harvest only bunches with soft, juicy tannin and sweet, dark red berry flavours get delivered to the winery.

We are seeing berry size across all red varieties is nice and small, suggesting 2009 will produce concentrated, big reds. Of particular note is Cabernet Sauvignon, which is consistently packed with intense flavour and crunchy tannins wherever I’ve tasted the fruit.

Since September we have had only one thunderstorm. This came through the Overberg on February 7. The problem with thunderstorms is that they bring nitrogen-charged rain just when you don’t want vegetative growth in the vine. This storm has not negatively affected the fruit but there is a strong possibility we will get a second thunderstorm early next week following the heatwave.

The annual battle with wind-fuelled veld fires has taken a huge toll this year, both in energy and natural resources. If you’ve ever fought this devouring beast and lived, your farm more or less salvageable, the experience changes the way you see the world. Several farms in the vicinity of our winery have been destroyed. Fortunately, so far only two of our suppliers have been affected. But the fire still rages on in the mountains. It has been blazing for over a month now.

From the white grapes I’ve tasted, I think the 2009 Sauvignon Blancs may prove to be the best vintage ever. Even Sauvignon Blanc fruit from the traditionally hot area of Rawsonville has some good flavour. This bodes well for our sister brand, Kumala.

It’s therefore no surprise that really cool areas, such as Elgin and Elim, have brilliant flavours.

Our 2009 Crush team has been working well, under the new leadership of Gerhard Swart. We are extremely pleased to have the wonderful Adele Louw back this vintage as well. Besides losing both our wastewater pump and our water pressure pump due to electricity spikes, the cellar is doing exactly what it should – transforming the majesty of nature into wine with authenticity and integrity.