Vintage 2020 - Challenging Times - But there are Brighter Skies on the Horizon

Vintage 2020 started under cloudy skies, the world facing once in a generation challenges and our vineyards under the stresses of the season. Fortunately, we were able to continue with vintage pretty much business as usual (albeit with me camped in the cellar door for a month).

The Barossa wine grape growing season was preceded by below-average winter rainfall with many rain events being smaller and less effective than normal. Temperatures remained mild through spring. November turned unexpectedly cool with many cold nights; then a 42oC heat spike hit on 20 November, following an extended period of strong winds. These conditions proved very detrimental to flowering and fruit-set across most parts of Barossa, and by early December it was evident that bunch weights had been dramatically reduced as a result. Our hopes of a decent crop evaporated but the extent would not be known for a few months.  

December brought higher temperatures with two severe heatwaves in late December and the occasional heat spike in January which reduced berry size and caused bunch necrosis in some cases. Extreme temperatures and strong winds on 20 December led to the outbreak of devastating bushfires through some parts of the Adelaide Hills, followed by another devastating bushfire breaking out on Kangaroo Island on 30 December. Fortunately. we were not impacted by the fires nor the smoke in the Barossa Valley.
 
This tumultuous period was followed by remarkably mild temperatures through February, March and April which were favourable to steady ripening and a spread-out vintage. Typical reports are that yields were down by at least 50%, and in many cases up to 80% below average. Our Estate Vineyard was down by 80%. Vintage took on a whole new complexion from mid-March onwards due to the COVID-19 pandemic, although with wine being deemed an essential agricultural industry, the 2020 harvest continued without major restriction.

Whilst 2020 yields are disappointingly low, wine quality is looking very high. Barossa’s 2020 wines will certainly be one for the cellar - and one we are all likely to reflect upon for many years to come.