Harvest Summary 2023

SUMMARY HARVEST 2023

Gisborne 2023 goes down as a difficult vintage…. Two and a half times the normal rainfall and a storm event just before harvest were not ideal.

As far as the fruit goes, we were lucky. Our vineyards are on the back Ormond Road side of the valley and with a slight elevation we were wet underfoot but not underwater.

The old Mendoza Chardonnay vines have an uncanny consistency from one harvest to the next and although we harvested early they are already showing well in barrel.

The Malo’s have come early this year and now as they rest in barrel on lee we wait for the wines to fill out and develop texture.

The hard part was hand picking. With so many people personally affected up in Te Karaka and Ngatapa, it was understandable that fewer people had the mindset to handpick to fundraise for their sports clubs so this year we called in contractors. The crew did a great job, over double the time selecting the best fruit and I am extremely grateful to get the job done.

We harvested half the crop as last year…. so lucky 2022 was a bumper.

Marlborough 2023 developed over the summer into a very good vintage for us.

Early on there had been concern with the low temperatures and forecasted rainfall and so we opened the canopy right up. As the summer progressed the rains stopped and from January onwards the summer arrived. The open canopy and clean fruit ripened beautifully, and we were able to harvest exactly when we wanted… thanks again to some great picking crews.

The crop was even and a decent size to keep everyone happy!!

Mid July now and we have the Pinot Gris and Rose being prepared for bottle. The aromatics are divine, and with lovely acidity and fruit weight these are definitely wines to enjoy.

The Pinot Noirs in barrel have bright fruits and uplifted aromatics, and with an approachable tannin profile already.