Another year in the barrel, and what an interesting vintage it has been!
The lead up to 2024 vintage was warm and dry, and these conditions resulted in the formation of small berries and bunches. A wet and cool December turned into a dry and warm January, and this, combined with the small berries, resulted in super-fast ripening fruit. We had ripe sugar and flavours very early, resulting in us beginning our harvest on January 8th which was one of the earliest ever start dates in Margan’s nearly 30-year history.
In 2023 vintage we hadn’t even started picking Semillon until February. This year, by February, we had finished picking Semillon and were already well into picking the reds. As you can see, viticulture and winemaking are a very unpredictable business.
As mentioned, these weather conditions resulted in noticeably smaller berries. The benefit of this is that you gain wonderful concentration of fruit and flavour. For example, our white wines from this vintage are already exhibiting great flavour and texture. The reds from this vintage are now in oak and early signs show rich, powerful wines across all varieties. Keep your eye out for these as they move from the barrel to bottle.