Vintage 2004 Regional roundup

摘要

Little rain fell on the Adelaide Plains in the 2003 winter, but good rains came in August and early September. No frost damage was reported and there was only slight wind damage—mainly to the top tips of shoots. There was even flowering and fruitset, delivering a good number of bunches in both whites and reds. More rain fell in late September and October, but by the end of November, the soil was starting to really dry out. December remained dry—with several days rocketing to the low 40℃s—causing some early headaches with ripening and watering. The dry continued into January, but with much cooler days and nights. The grapes ripened well. Vintage arrived with an earlier than usual Chardonnay harvest—some as early as the first days of February. Winemakers decided to take the whites off early with lower baumes to keep freshness and flavour before the forecast hot weather. Most reds were also ready to harvest early—in the second week of February. Some nights in February were warm, causing some problems with fruit temperature during harvest itself. Tonnages were generally up.