2013
The lead up to vintage 2013 saw perfect ripening conditions with cool nights and dry warm days. After the 2012 vintage being one of our best there were high hopes for another of that quality and 2013 did not let us down. As well as being dry, the disease levels were the lowest for many years and fruit was very clean. There was effectively no rainfall for three months from December Harvested yields were down 10-30% from what was expected and demand for McLaren Vale fruit was high, particularly for Shiraz and Cabernet Sauvignon, as well as Grenache. All of which were looking promising in terms of colour and flavour. First pick was the Traminer on 7/2/13 quickly followed by the Chardonnay and other whites. The first Shiraz arrived from our Malpas vineyard on the 20/2/13 and was quickly followed by our Merlot and Barbera. With the early start to vintage and the large amount of fruit ripening quickly some challenges were met in the winery with fermentation space. We were full by the end of the first week and stayed that way for 6 weeks. With milder weather setting in towards the end of vintage things slowed down a little allowing for good extraction times for the later Shiraz and Cab. Grenache came off clean and was a highlight of the vintage with good varietal character. The final crush was on the 17/4/13 witch saw the end of an intense vintage that saw 2590 tons of fruit turned into some of our best wines. A vintage of long shifts and late nights.

2014
A wet beginning to the season with an average winter rainfall of 300-350mm did not persist with little rain received after November. Temperatures in excess of 42C were recorded on five consecutive days with vineyard peak temperatures reaching even higher. Daily temperatures were 12C or more above the normal average temperature between 13-17 January. Fruit shrivel and leaf burn in some areas evidenced the effect of the heat, whilst accompanying high winds which exacerbated conditions. This was followed by a rain event that bought some relief to the heat. About 40mm fell in 24 hours, raising concerns of fruit splitting. This meant the whites were picked earlier to beat the rain with the first Chardonnay coming off on the 24^th of January for sparkling base quickly followed by the rest to beat the rain and the fear of disease. This fear was alleviated as berries took up water but predominantly didn’t split leading to a delayed start to the reds being picked. The Tempranillo and Shiraz started to roll in on the 17 of February and with the cooler nights the ripening slowed and so did the work load. Cabernet was a highlight with some early picks around the beginning of March showing amazing varietal character whilst having fruit weight. The later picks of Shiraz were left out with the cooler nights allowing for full fruit ripeness to be achieved and slowing down the harvest. This meant that the last crush was on the 23^rd of April with the last pick of Merlot bringing the total crush to 2577 tons. As much as it was a chaotic start to vintage the end dragged on and the wines saw plenty of time in the fermenters to develop good palate weight and structure. This shows through particularly in the alternative varieties such as Tempranillo and Sangiovese that were a highlight for me.

2015
McLaren Vale  experienced one of the earliest vintages on record in 2015 with mild weather playing an important role for the region with only a handful of hot days and 30mm of rain at the end of January. This freshened up the vines and kick-started veraison. With cool nights and a mild February  the fruit ripened evenly retaining great colour and balance. The vineyards had good canopies despite the dry season witch added to earlier ripening and earlier picking . This  favourable weather allowed natural acids with low PH levels to develop. The crop levels were down on average that led to greater concentration and clean varietal expression with fine tannins and excellent balance .They were  powerful but restrained.  This can often mean wines with good ageing ability. With vintage starting on the 23rd of January and finishing on the 8th of April this was the first vintage for a decade where the winery was finished crushing by Easter. A welcome rest for the cellar after an intense vintage .

2016
With lower than average rainfall in the lead up to vintage and a colder than average September the vintage was always looking like a more concentrated and intense one. The weather in November and December heated up and with warm nights and above average days leading to an early start to harvest on the 27th of January. With vintage under way we received a welcome rain event between the 29th of January and the 3rd of February with 44mm of rain falling over the valley. This slowed up the vintage and was a welcome relief from the dry dust conditions. With a slightly lower tonnage than usual and a nice cool end to vintage the wines were  highly aromatic with gentle acidity and moderate alcohol levels.

2017
Started of with good winter rainfall that replenished the soil after a long dry spell through 2015 and 2016. This meant that the vines flourished leading into flowering and fruit set was good. A cool beginning to summer with only 2 days over 40'c made for good ripening and less stress on the vines. This led to higher than average yields and good quality fruit. With the slower ripening period the vintage was late to kick off with the first fruit arriving on the 23rd of Feb. This was roughly two weeks later than the average. Yields were excellent across all varietals, colour and natural acidity outstanding with generous full-flavoured fruit characters shining through. The large crops in the shiraz led to some fruit being left out to achieve a higher than usual ripeness allowing for a greater spectrum to blend from. Although a long vintage is not everyone's favourite it was definitely one of the best in the recent years .With the mix of weather we have been having in the ripening season it is proving to be a challenging one as far as predicting the crop levels and quality. We have seen above average rainfall for the later parts of last year that has slowed the progress of the vines and given us a slower ripening period. Although this may lead to some disease pressure on early ripening varieties such as Chardonnay and Tempranillo it will also allow for full fruit ripeness to be achieved before the sugar levels reach maturity. This will inevitably  lead to lower alcohol levels in the finished wines and bring McLaren Vale wines back towards a cooler climate style. This style seems to be the flavour profiles preferred by the market at the moment and is reflected in the wine show results as a preferred direction.  At this stage vintage is still looking to be a few weeks away with small amounts of colour appearing in the Tempranillo and the Chardonnay showing signs of softening. Sparkling base at this rate will be ready by the later parts of February followed closely by the other whites. The reds should be seen by the middle of March with some later varieties hanging out until after Easter this year. The outlook for more cool weather may push this out by another week but we will be into full swing by the end of February  The long term effect of the higher than average rainfall is a huge benefit to the vineyards . It has allowed for a reduction of the build up of the salts in the soils and a healthier growing environment for the vines. This will lead to better quality wines from the McLaren Vale vineyards for years to come.

Bring on the sunshine….

2018 
Good winter rains leading into vintage allowed for good vigour and the dry spring allowed for good set and a lack of disease in the McLaren Vale vineyards. A small hailstorm did hit during October but most of the vines weren’t damaged as they were not flowering. Budburst occurred during September and the following dry December and January led to a great start to the crush of Chardonnay on the 1^st of February. The reds followed soon after with our Malpas Shiraz and Rivers lane being picked quite early.  Crop levels were quite good. With a warm January and a mild February crops ripened evenly and had good balanced natural acidity and good fruit ripeness. As the vintage progressed the later varieties came in evenly allowing for plenty of time on skins and good extraction leading to good concentration particularly in the later shiraz and Grenache. A standout was the Monti that comes off last and had a perfect ripening period with very little rain and cool nights. Vintage finished on the 11^th of April and was a standout for concentration of flavour and  fruit expression.

2019
A lack of late winter rainfall and a dry windy end to the growing season led to some challenges for the 2019 vintage. A wind and hail event in late November affected the set of the fruit in some blocks that led to less tons but a greater concentration of fruit on the vine. A need for consistent irrigation and water management was essential to maintain the crop levels leading into vintage 2019. With the start of vintage on the 6 of February the whites came of with below average tonnages on most blocks but showing good fruit concentration and great balance.  The reds followed soon after with a burst of hot weather pushing daytime temps into the 40s and the beaume of the reds up faster than usual.  This led to a fast and furious start to ferment and an interesting mix of fruit across the weighbridge with Cabernet and Grenache being picked earlier than usual. The milder nights due to the maritime location and the higher than usual acidities meant the end of vintage slowed down and gave us some breathing space. Once the fruit ripeness caught up to the beaume we saw some amazing concentration and depth to the fruit flavours. With a lower tonnage and some amazing later parcels we were able to leave wines on skins for longer and slow down the end of vintage to the 10^th of April. Although we were down on tons for the vintage the extra time led to some amazing parcels of fruit such as the Nebbiolo and some of our new plantings of Grenache and Montepulciano.

2020
With a slower than usual start to vintage and below average rainfall through the earlier part of the ripening season vintage is finally under way. A lower than average set and low soil moisture has seen some challenges with the vineyards that we are seeing in volumes of fruit. We saw our first crush on the 6/2 with the early pick Sharktooth Chardonnay coming in at 10  beaume . This was pressed off and has now finished ferment . It was blended with some older material and is already being bottled next week.  The other whites then flowed in with bright acid and clean fruit. The nights were cold and the days were mild allowing for good flavour retention and even ripening. Crops were slightly down on tons but the quality was up. The weather was kind with a threatening front and potential downpour turning into a refreshing shower and a  slight wind change. The reds were in need of a drink by this stage and the vines lapped up every drop. The first reds arrived at the winery on the 19/2.  The Tempranillo was the first off with the balance of bright clean acidity with lower sugars and good fruit ripeness for the Bellissimo style.  Soon after came the Rivers lane block that goes to the Teramoto. This block naturally ripens earlier with good fruit intensity and amazing concentration. We saw unusually low pH and bright natural acids in the first picks this year that will lead to wines with great longevity and balance. The one row Barbera was a standout with good fruit ripeness at a low pH .  We then worked our way through our Malpas vineyard and picked a number r of blocks including some early Cabernet that showed amazing varietal character and a hint of greenness that will be great for blending. During this week we have moved into the Shark block picking a few parcels of the riper Shirazes and starting to take some Grenache from Blewit Springs and the ranges. Beaume have been slightly higher than usual with fruit concentration and flavour looking above average. With a nice warm beginning to this week we saw our other alternative varieties come on with Sangiovase being picked today and Neb Monti and Lagrein early next week. At this rate we will pick through the last of the Grenache by the middle of the following week and the Monti will in soon after. Although crop levels are slightly down, through good water management and strong canopy cover through the ripening period we have escaped the lower crop levels that other regions are experiencing. I think this will be a vintage that is remembered for having its challenges but the wines will shine through with great concentration and good fruit balance.

2021
The early stages of ripening were quite stressful for winemakers in 2021 - November 2020 was the driest since 1990 and it was a definite hard end to spring. November also proved to have the equal highest average daily maximum temperature for the growing season (27.5°C tied with January), this is a rare occurrence. One of the warmest days for the season was on November 27th which was 38.8°C. There was mild weather through December. There were only two days above 35°C. January was slightly hotter but still below average. The temperatures in February were ideal with no days above 35°C and temperatures staying around the high 20s and low 30s each day. Veraison in red grapes and softening in whites was later than typical early February, and ripening was steady .This led to the whites being picked with good acidity and ripe fruit characters. The first crush was the 1^st of February with Traminer and Chardonnay for sparkling base. Other white varieties followed soon after with a standout being the Fiano on the 17^th of February showing amazing varietal flavours. Tempranillo was also picked on the 17^th of February with bright cherry fruit characters for the Bellissimo range. Shiraz followed soon after from the Rivers Lane block and even some early Cabernet on the 19^th from the Malpas block. During the early part of March, the vintage really took off with warm days, cool nights and an abundance of fruit, giving perfect ripening conditions and pushing the wineries capacity to its limits. Towards the end of March the rest of the alternatives came in with Sangiovese and Nebbiolo looking amazing. Grenache came on strong from Blewitt Springs in the beginning of April, showing good concentration of flavour along with balanced acid. The vintage finished up on the 16^th of April with later picked Shiraz for the Vintage Port at 18.5 Beaume. The reported crush of wine grapes from McLaren Vale was 36,659 tonnes in 2021, up by 28% compared with the 2020 reported crush of 28,751 tonnes. Serafino’s final crush was 3092 ton and will be one of the best vintages of the last decade for quality. 

2022
With good rainfall through winter due to the La Nina pattern and a strong southerly weather influence, the McLaren Vale budburst was slightly later than usual. The November average temperature was 1.5 degrees lower than average and the summer weather never seemed to arrive. Heading into flowering, we experienced strong winds leading to lower crop levels with greater concentration of fruit and flavor. With the rest of Australia taking the brunt of this wet weather pattern and floods on the eastern seaboard, McLaren Vale seemed to escape any extreme weather events. We had a milder lead into vintage with minimal rain events and no days with more than 9mm of rain. We also avoided the heat waves that saw fires and devastation in the west.With no days over 40 and cool nights, we had even ripening and clean acidity with good balance.Harvest started about a week later than usual on the 11^th of Feb with Chardonnay for sparkling base off our Willunga vineyards and Traminer from McLaren Flat. Dry whites followed soon after on the 22^nd February with Chardonnay showing great fruit ripeness. The reds started on the 25^th of February with our Malpas Shiraz soon followed by Tempranillo on the 2^nd of March. Our new Strout Rd vineyard showed amazing colour early with the first pick of Shiraz coming in on the 15^th March, closely followed by the hand picked Grenache from our Gain’s block for carbonic maceration.A highlight was the run of Blewit Springs Grenache that came in at the end of March and the first week of April with a total of thirteen different picks of Grenache giving us plenty of blending options.  Grenache from this sub-region has gone up by 50% to 100% over the last five years.As the vintage slowed down and the later varieties came on, we saw cooler nights and the pressure came off.  Slower ferments and extended skin contact allowed for some parcels to spend up to five weeks on skins. Montepulciano came in with amazing color as usual on the 7^th on April and was followed closely by the last crush of Cabernet Sauvignon from our Ingleburn vineyard on the 8^th of April, with harvest finishing just in time for a well deserved rest over Easter.

2023
Vintage 2023 will go down in history as one of the wettest on record. With above average rainfall across the entire southern half of the country during late winter and early spring leading to a number of flood events in NSW and Victoria the vintage was set to be an interesting one from the start. Flowering did not happen in most vineyards until late November and was paired with wet and windy conditions that were not ideal for the set of the fruit. A full moisture profile in the soil and cooler than average temperatures led to a slow onset of veraison and slower shoot growth. McLaren Vale did manage to avoid the more dramatic weather conditions of the rest of the country with cool nights and clear days leading into February contributing to slower ripening and good fruit development. With the open canopies and lower crops, we did not see as much disease pressure as colder climate areas saw. Some signs of powdery were seen early but with a burst of heat in late Feb these quickly disappeared. Baume’s did take their time to come up with the colder nights than usual and vintage did get off to a slow start on the 16^th of February with the Chardonnay sparkling base for our Goose Island. This was more than a week later than 2022.  The whites came off quickly with crop levels down by 30% from average and the odd shower leading to the pressure of disease. The tons may have been down, but the quality was outstanding. A favourite of the cellar was the Fiano showing its usual grapefruit and lemon rind notes. Reds weren’t far behind with the Little Rd Tempranillo arriving on the 28^th of February followed closely by the River’s Lane block on the 1^st of March. This had a baume of 13.8 and a perfect natural acidity with a pH of 3.51 and a TA of 5.8 Shiraz came in fast with crop levels closer to an average year and the persistent threat of rain. We moved through our Communication Rd and Little Rd vineyards and onto our Strout Rd vineyard. A standout was the older Shiraz plantings from Strout Rd showing riper characters with great concentration of flavour. Another standout of vintage was the Nero d’Avola. Just when our vineyard crew thought they had a day off Steve sent them out to hand pick the first crop off our Nero that was planted last year. Only a few tons of this variety but it looks amazing with intense cherry fruit and a luscious palate. Our Shark and Ingleburn vineyards were picked at 14.5 beaume on the 25^th of March and have the usual rich intensity and concentrated flavours that go into our Sharktooth Shiraz. Tons were down due to bad set, but acids were balanced, and the fruit had nice even ripening throughout the bunches. We jumped into Cabernets a little earlier than usual. These wines were initially lighter but have since developed into vibrant wines with great varietal expression and natural acidity that will develop for years to come. Some of the best batches came from our Strout Rd young vines, Little Rd and our Malpas Rd block. Monti and Grenache were a the last to come in with our Gian’s Block Monti coming in on the 5^th of April and showing its amazing color and concentration as usual. Some of the prettier batches of Grenache also followed from Blewitt Springs, having great fruit development and clean acids. Our final crush was on the 26^th of April. A longer than usual vintage that was never a rush due to the persistent cooler weather that kept threatening to end vintage early. We even found time to make a batch of surprisingly ripe shiraz into port this year fortifying with grape spirit and filling to oak after settling. It seemed fitting in such a cold wet year to make a fortified.