At the moment we have big drought and we are hoping for a very intense rainfall during winter. On the positive side there was less wind in November & December as well as less diseases, pests etc and a greater growth vigour in the vineyards due the dry weather. The climate factor that played probably the biggest role in making 2017 a great vintage was the cool nights during January through to March.
Harvest started on 23 January with Pinotage as usual, 2 days earlier than the previous harvest which means 2017 was our earliest start yet on Beyerskloof, this continued until 8 March where we finished with Cabernet Sauvignon. In general the grapes were healthy, berries were small and concentrated and we harvested 40 tons more than last year, 550ton in total, we are however still 20% down on yield on our long term average. Quality of the wines so far looks extremely good with rich dark colours and brilliant fruit on all the red cultivars, analytically the wines looks good as well. It is a little early, but I think this will be another vintage like 2009 or 2015 or maybe even better