2004 VINTAGE REPORT

Hard work and a great result – that sums up vintage 2004. The season started well throughout the regions with warm settled weather at flowering and good fruit set. A period of cooler weather towards the end of summer caused some alarm but the sun returned and we took in a record harvest of clean flavoursome grapes. I believe the quality of this year’s harvest will rival 2000 and 2002. No Frost!

MARLBOROUGH

We had a record harvest in 2004, due to a good flowering, high bunch weights and the new plantings at Wakefield Downs and Cowslip Valley vineyards coming into production. We had a long ripening season with the harvest continuing well into May, producing vivid and intense flavours in our Sauvignon Blanc and Riesling in particular.

HAWKE'S BAY

Excellent fruit this year off the Gravels (Gimblett Road Vineyard) so we will have no trouble finding the quality for Irongate and Patriarch wines, (you may recall no Irongate or Patriarch was made in 2003). The Fernhill vineyard performed well, especially with new plantings of Viognier now producing – we will have an almost commercial volume of this exciting wine to release in the New Year. 2004 also saw the first intake of fruit from Ohiti. The overall quality from our Hawke’s Bay vineyards has been superb with the Gimblett Road Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot standing out at this early stage.

GISBORNE

A top vintage this year for us in Gisborne with fruit to match that harvested in 2002. Our growers have provided us with clean, and flavoursome Chardonnay, Semillon and exceptionally ripe Pinotage.

Vintage 2004 was one of those rare vintages that left us little, if anything, to grumble about – good yields and excellent quality from each of the regions we grow. We countered higher crop levels with judicious crop thinning and the long season, particularly in Marlborough, has delivered very pure, focused flavours. Look forward to our new releases – one of the first being a lively Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc.

ADAM HAZELDINE
WINEMAKER