34th Hamilton Russell Vineyards Harvest well underway
Thursday, 27 February, 2014
Hamilton Russell Vineyards
The 2014 harvest lays the foundations for another two important milestones for the Hamilton Russell Vineyards team and our associated properties. We will make our 33rd vintage of Hamilton Russell Vineyards Chardonnay -- 1/3 of a century - and our 20th vintage of Southern Right Pinotage and Sauvignon blanc.
The first of the Chardonnay was harvested from our "Bardolf" vineyard on Friday February 21st - the same day as for the 2013 harvest. The quality is extremely exciting and we hope to make a truly excellent 2014 to mark the 33rd vintage. We are similarly excited by the first of the Sauvignon blanc and Pinotage we took in for Southern Right. Intense flavours and vibrant acidity bode well.
In general 2014 has been a challenging vintage, with warmth and Southeast drizzle in February creating ideal conditions for Botrytis (luckily - and with vigilance - well under control). This followed an unusually wet January with 1/5th of a years rainfall occurring over 3 days in what should be a fairly dry month. Nevertheless, every harvest presents its set of challenges - reminding us that agriculture is a form of gambling with nature - and we have a sufficiently long experience of working our terroir to pre-empt and control many of the risks. What we thought would be a particularly late harvest is very much in-line with 2013. The Boletus Edulis (mushrooms) from our small cork-oak forest are almost 3 weeks early however. A welcome result of the warmth and humidity!
Our 34th Pinot noir harvest should begin in earnest from February 25th and the year looks as though it will deliver a finer, tighter - and possibly more athletic - style than the ripe voluptuous 2012 and 2013. We all greatly look forward to what will be another interesting and individual expression of our site and soils through Pinot noir.
We thought you may care to see the following recent write-ups on two of our current releases:
• From The Wine Spectator – Editors' Most Exciting Wines - 93 Points - Hamilton Russell Vineyards Pinot noir 2012
"Alluring, with gorgeous toasted spice and cherry confiture aromas, backed by silky red currant, Samson plum and cherry fruit flavours" James Molesworth, Senior Editor
• From Wine Review Online - 92 Points - Southern Right Sauvignon blanc 2013
I’ve tasted this wine in every vintage from the past decade, and there’s no question that this 2013 rendition is the best release of any within memory. Manifestly superior in terms of concentration and richness, it actually looks different in terms of its physical properties in the glass, and its textural breadth confirms that visual impression. The flavors are ripe but also energetically edgy, with strong Sauvignon varietal character that never turns pungent or sour. Previous releases of this wine showed great promise; this one really delivers the goods. Michael Franz
All the best and we hope to see you at Hamilton Russell Vineyards in 2014!