“Whereas the 2015 harvest caught us a little by surprise, 2016 did not have the same consequence and we pretty much knew that it was going to be an early vintage from the outset. Our vineyards enjoyed bud-break a week earlier that the norm and flowering started and finished approximately two weeks earlier than 2014. Added to this the warm and dry spring and the early onset of the predictable February high temperatures, this time one week into January, we had more than ample warning to have a “ready” cellar. Cellarhands and winemakers were all back early from their Christmas break and fell into the thick of things on the 14th of January with the first Sauvignon Blanc grapes from our home farm. All the criteria that led to this early ripening phase meant that the unseasonal warmth was kept to a minimum as the grapes were physiologically ripe and didn’t have much time to hang in the testy conditions before harvest time.
Winemakers and viticulturalists are highly adaptable beings and we all learn rather quickly from challenging experiences. 2015 meant we had a far greater understanding of the vegetative requirements for earlier ripening grapes, certainly with critical decision making regarding minimising leaf break in canopies so as to reduce the possibility of sunburn and reduction in essential flavour profiles of our most sensitive varieties. Our hand harvesting also occurred one hour earlier than in 2015 so as to combat the sustained warmth of the first three or so weeks of the season and meant that full quotas were delivered to the cellar while still cool.
Red varieties gave us similar worries and we kept canopies intact to protect the delicate bunches until a few days before harvest. By removing the leaves in the bunch zone a few days before, we allowed for excellent conditioning of the skins and noticed a distinct increase in colour. Coupled to this the warm dryland environment compounded the concentration of both colour and flavour. Reds from the 2016 vintage show amazing concentration of phenolics and colour.
A few critical changes were introduced into the cellar at Grande Provence this year. The introduction of cooling wands allowed us to ferment our Chardonnay with excellent ability to control the fermentation temperatures, cooling where necessary to smooth out any heat spikes and extending the total fermentation time by almost two weeks. This resulted in greater preservation of fruit in the resultant wine and a better expression of the superb vineyard that supplies us the fruit. Part of the Chardonnay was fermented using indigenous yeasts and this has improved the complexity in the wine with a dazzlingly display of citrus notes and wild flower aromas.
Our “The Grande Provence” red vineyards received meticulous care and attention with lighter yields and ruthless green harvesting to improve the evenness of the ripeness levels across the blocks. We now purchase the grapes per block and not per ton and this allows us to make critical decisions to dramatically improve the concentration and quality of the resultant harvest. Across the board, through the Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Malbec and Petit Verdot we dropped crop to one bunch per shoot. Not only did this allow for exquisite grapes but also allowed to vines to breeze through the trying conditions of the season. At the end of picking the vines were still in remarkable health.
All red wines were fermented with indigenous yeast. This is a wonderful way to add complexity in a wine as the multiple strains of yeast that are active within a fermentation all leave behind their signature fragrance and flavour – the combination of which results in a complex array of aromas and tastes.
Although challenging, the 2016 harvest, blessed us with early whites that are fragrant and wonderfully structured and reds that are saturated with colour and deeply concentrated with fruit and velvety tannins.”
Karl Lambour - Winemaker