VINTAGE RATINGS

Yarra Valley Vintage Summaries by James Halliday. Ratings were supplied to James by Yarra Valley winemakers.

W = white wine rating out of 10. R = red wine rating out of 10.

1992 Ratings: W 10; R 10

The Yarra Valley undoubtedly had the best growing conditions and outcome for its wines of all the Australian regions in 1992. After the dry 1991 vintage, good winter and spring rains set the scene for an outstanding growing season. While the summer was one of the coolest on record, the incidence of sunshine was higher than normal, with relatively few cloudy or windy days. Vintage itself proceeded with barely a drop of rainfall, and it proved to be one of those rare years in which the white wines are as good as the reds (and vice versa).

An extremely wet winter was followed by a cool, wet spring. Flowering took place three weeks later than usual, but in good conditions which ensured good fruit set. The weather continued cool and wet throughout January and February, requiring constant vigilance to ward off mildew and botrytis. A complete reversal in the weather in the beginning of March saved the vintage from disaster. The skies cleared, the sun shone and temperatures rose, allowing the above-average crops to ripen weeks after normal.

Chardonnay was the best performer overall, albeit with an unusual mix of high acidity and high alcohol; pinot noir tended to be weak; however, the late-ripening cabernet and merlot had good flavour, weight and colour.

1994 Ratings: W 9, R 9

A cool, wet spring delayed budburst by around two weeks, and the weather remained cool and wet, culminating in the Victoria-wide flooding in early November. Similar conditions continued through to December, resulting in some disruption to the flowering of pinot noir and chardonnay. Bunch numbers were also lower than usual as a consequence of lack of sunlight in the early part of the 1992/93 growing season.

It was not until mid March that temperatures rose, heralding yet another Indian Summer similar to that of 1993. Yields were sharply down across all of the early ripening varieties, better with merlot and cabernet sauvignon. The result was an excellent vintage for both white and red wines matched or exceeded only by 1992 and 1991.

A very dry winter was followed by unusually warm spring and early summer, with only two periods of significant rain, one in September and one spanning late December and early January.

Flowering took place in warm, dry conditions, and in most areas the fruit set was perfect, ultimately resulting in above average crop levels. This had the effect of prolonging veraison and making picking decisions difficult, problems compounded with the arrival of persistent and increasingly heavy rain from the end of March onwards through April and May. What had promised to be a hot, early and trouble-free vintage became a very difficult one as botrytis and bunch rot appeared in many vineyards. Chardonnay suffered most, with low flavour, pinot noir faring better along with cabernet sauvignon and shiraz picked much later in the season.

1996 Ratings: W 7, R 8

The Yarra Valley is an unequivocally cool growing region so low temperatures are part and parcel as viticulture in the region, but when it has its coldest summer for 100 years as it did in 1996, growers are entitled to feel aggrieved. If that were not enough, over 200 mm of rain fell in the first 20 days of April (with only two fine days) again constituting some sort of record. Despite this, the region emerged with truly excellent pinot noir and chardonnay. Berry and bunch size were small for both varieties, particularly so for the pinot noir, and almost all of the pinot and much of the chardonnay was picked before the April rain. Even the chardonnay picked during the rain turned out to be of far higher quality than anyone imagined possible at the time.

The later-ripening varieties of merlot, cabernet sauvignon and shiraz all suffered to a lesser or greater degree from the April rain; only the very best sites with low crop levels were able to avoid botrytis and produce acceptable wines. The rating for the year is biased towards the region's two most important varieties: chardonnay and pinot noir.

1997 Ratings: W 8, R 9

A cold and wet spring, with September rainfall 60% above average, abruptly gave way to fine, warm weather from the middle of October. Flowering of pinot noir and chardonnay took place in ideal conditions, but due to the cold, wet weather 12 months previously, bunch numbers were very low, and the number of berries on each bunch fewer than normal.

In a complete reversal of 1996, the Yarra experienced one of the hottest, driest summers on record; only 22 mm of rain fell in the first ten weeks of 1997. The hot, dry weather which prevailed through much of southern Australia during February prevented any increase in berry size or bunch weight, and one of the smallest but highest quality vintages on record was the result. It was a great year for pinot noir, ranking with 1991 and 1988, and excellent for merlot and cabernet sauvignon. The Chardonnays are very concentrated and rich, but are likely to develop relatively quickly by the normal standards of the valley.

1998 Ratings: W 8, R 9

The 1997 calendar year was the driest ever recorded in the Yarra Valley, and the second driest recorded in metropolitan Melbourne. The 1998 weather continued dry right through to the conclusion of vintage, with only scattered showers here and there. For the Upper Yarra vineyards of BRL Hardy and Coldstream Hills/Southcorp (both of which have permanent water sources in the forms of creeks which do not stop flowing in even the most prolonged droughts) the vintage was ideal. Says Peter Dawson "Chardonnay flavours on the vine were magnificent — intense and long, and beautifully balanced... We were also fortunate that the pinot noir achieved the full ripeness necessary for premium table wine." For Coldstream Hills the most exciting single wine from the Upper Yarra Valley was Merlot, although the Sauvignon Blanc is also explosive in flavour. In the Lower Yarra Valley Pinot Noir and Cabernet Sauvignon look to be outstanding, the Chardonnay very good. Overall, yields were back to normal after two very small vintages in 1996 and 1997, and everyone is smiling.

1999 Ratings: W 6, R 6

It is unlikely that the Yarra Valley will ever again encounter such climatic diversity within its confines. Certainly, parts of the valley are cooler, have higher rainfall and ripen later than other parts, and equally certainly, the grey, sandy clay loam soils of the lower Yarra are very different to the rich, red volcanic soils of the upper Yarra. But this year the weather gods turned the normal patterns upside down, making generalisations very hazardous.

Thin strips of hail in October caused significant damage in parts of vineyard blocks, but not the remainder, damage which assumed another dimension as unseasonal rainfall started in early March and continued (in some places, but not others) through the whole month and into the first week of April.

Thereafter the weather cleared up, but for many it was too late. In those areas, which received continuous March rainfall, the vintage was the worst on record. For others, like the Diamond Creek/Christmas Hills area, it was one of the best years in recent times. The ratings given are a mid-point between the best and worst.

2000 Ratings: W 9, R 9

After what can only be described as a schizophrenic vintage in 1999, the Yarra Valley seems destined to produce excellent wines across the full range of variety and style. The rain which bedevilled the 1999 vintage was followed up by good rain in August and some follow up rain in January, resulting in full dams and good soil moisture. This in turn provided a large measure of defence against the very dry and warm to hot conditions (hot in the relative sense of the Yarra Valley), which prevailed right through from February to late April. These conditions were perfect for the late ripening varietals of Merlot, Cabernet and Shiraz, which are quite outstanding. Pinot Noir achieved a high overall standard, but the surprises were the performances of the white wines, with Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Gris all doing well.

The failures were in vineyards which were either overcropped or which had inadequate water; here the fruit failed to ripen properly.

2001 - Ratings: W 6, R 7

The extreme weather contrasts of the past four years continued. While good winter rains replenished dams and subsoil moisture, ferociously hot weather arrived at the beginning of December, and continued until rain arrived in March. This was the hottest summer on record and, not surprisingly, the early ripening varieties of chardonnay and pinot noir felt the strain most. It seems the heat softened, rather than toughened, the skins, and while the rainfall in March was not especially heavy or prolonged, botrytis spread rapidly. As with the other recent warm to hot vintages (1998 and 2000) the later ripening red varieties did very well, with Merlot to the fore, and also excellent Cabernet Sauvignon. The one anomaly in all of this was some lovely Sauvignon Blanc from the Upper Yarra. All in all, a difficult year to rate.

2002 – Ratings: W 10, R 8. Text and ratings supplied by YVWGA

Drought conditions over winter were followed by an unusually cool, dry ripening period. This was the coolest vintage on record. Flowering was one week later than usual with both bunch weight and bunch numbers down by 30-40%, due to the drought conditions. However, the 2002 season resulted in outstanding wines for all varieties except Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot.

This vintage is without question one of the best for Chardonnay and Pinot Noir in the Yarra Valley.

An excellent vintage, with the growing season climate returning to normal (in terms of temperature, though not rainfall) after a series of abnormally warm or freakish cool seasons since 1998. Yields were mostly below average (though much larger than 2002) and flavour developed very early, well before chemical ripeness – always a sign of high quality. It was a very early vintage, finishing a month early.

2004 Ratings: W 9, R 8

The last really comparable vintage to 2004 was 1990, with 1992 the other possible contender. From the moment flowering began in November, through to the third week of April (by which time 90 per cent of the harvest was completed), the weather was perfect. The moment sugars started to rise and the skins started to soften in the Chardonnay it became apparent an exceptional vintage was in the offing, with flavour development occurring far earlier in the sugar (ripening) curve than normal. Chardonnay will be in the league of our greatest vintages: 1988; 1992; 2000; and 2002. Other white varieties performed very well. The later maturing varieties of Shiraz, Merlot and Cabernet enjoyed the warmer conditions and there are some outstanding examples of each.

2005 Ratings: W 10, R 9

The Yarra experienced challenging conditions from budburst through to the end of February, notably high rainfall. Near perfect weather conditions ensued with warm and dry days, followed by generally cool nights. Natural acidity levels were high, with very few additions for whites. The cool conditions required patience in determining the harvest date of reds, as sugar ripeness was often up to a week ahead of flavour development. The region experienced the warmest April since records began, which has helped the later maturing varieties achieve both sugar and flavour ripeness.

2006 Ratings: W 9, R 9

A combination of relatively low yields, a warm summer and adequate spring rainfall led to the earliest vintage on record, with intake over by Easter. Despite the unusual conditions, the early indications are promising for most varieties. Natural acidities have held up well, particularly in Chardonnay, with good varietal characters already evident. Pinot Noir would not normally do as well in the warmer years, yet this year may be similar in some respects to the 2000 vintage, with attractive cherry and plum flavours dominating. The later maturing varieties of Shiraz, Merlot and Cabernet generally benefit from the warm conditions, with some potentially outstanding parcels of each.

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