Lourensford Wine Estate Harvest Report 2013
Friday, 24 May, 2013
Lourensford Wine Estate
Winter 2012 was very wet with 633mm of rain during June, July and August (2011’s total was 776mm) therefor we entered the growing season with a soil profile saturated with water. We experienced VERY strong winds during the last week of November and the first week of December.
Luckily it was already past the sensitive
phenological vineyard stage: the bunches were already set and shoots through
the wires. Sand-blasting did damage in
some places but the vines recovered very well during the following month.
It was also the warmest December recorded
in 48 years but contrary to that, harvest time was cool with 95mm of rain in
February (26mm over 10 year average). The rain influenced the decision of when
to harvest the Sauvignon Blanc in order to avoid rot but the timings in the end
were perfect.
Pests and diseases
It was overall a good year for pests and
diseases (low incidence). We had the danger of Powdery mildew infection during
the latter part of the season, but it doesn’t influence the ripening process at
that late stage.
Canopy management actions
No leaf plucking was done on the Chardonnay
in 2013. On Sauvignon Blanc we did a “window” break as usual on the second wire
to let air through to prevent against rot. A slight break in the Merlot
vineyards also provided a little more sunlight on the bunches.
Physiology
Budburst in Chardonnay started around the
end of August/beginning of September and is about the same as the previous
year. The trend continued across the other white varieties but the late red
varieties were up to 2 weeks later. The ripening period during January to March
was long and leisurely due to the cooler weather and had the slow and thorough development
of flavours as a result. White varieties were ripe on time as expected and the
reds approximately 2 weeks later than usual. The grapes had ripened
physiologically at a lower sugar which implies lower natural alcohols in the
wines of 2013.
Harvest
The young white wines are looking very good
with fresh flavours that reminds of the outstanding 2009 harvest. This can be attributed to the cooler than usual summer and the
cold nights that helped protect the fruity flavours of the whites. Chardonnay
and Viognier is also developing nicely in barrels or in the tanks on their
lees.The first Chardonnay for MCC was harvested on 25 January while last year
it was on the 31st.
The
young red wines are bright in colour, fruity and clean with a fresh acidity.
The vintage represent a more Mediterranean look and feel. It is not the inky,
high alcoholic and tannic South African approach but instead the tannins are
softer and more refined. It is still early days for a final opinion.