Why are some vintages better than others?
The short answer is, the weather. But you’ll appreciate that it’s much more complicated than just that.
No two wine regions are the same, and so the conditions that suit one may not necessarily suit the other. If we zoom in closer, we’ll see that regions have sub-regions, and these can vary dramatically. Zoom in even closer, and we can see that individual vineyards themselves have their own specific micro-climate, which shapes how the weather affects the grapes. On top of that, there are human interventions that can impact the growing season, and it gets even more complicated once we start trying to define what ‘good’ actually means.
Generally speaking, however, a good vintage is defined by the grapes that come out of it. So let’s begin by dissecting the growing cycle of grapes.
What needs to go right
Like all good things in life, a good vintage takes time. Winemakers and viticulturists are hoping for an early bud burst, followed by a long, even and gradual ripening period. An ideal vintage won’t see any dramatic climatic swings or major weather events. It won’t ever get too hot, nor too cold. In fact, the more ‘boring’ the better.
What can go wrong
So much. Spring frosts can destroy buds before they even have a chance to flower, as too can hail. If this occurs early in the season, it may not impact the quality of fruit, but it will certainly diminish the yield.
Ideally, we want to see flavour and sugar developing at the same rate through the summer. If it gets too hot, the grapes develop sugar before they’ve had a chance to cultivate complex flavours. Conversely, if the season doesn’t get hot enough, the grapes won’t fully ripen, thereby also suffering from a lack of complexity.
The lead up to harvest is one of the most crucial moments of the year; if things go wrong here, it can often be too late to rectify. Heavy rains make the grapes swell with water, which not only dilutes the flavour intensity but can also cause some to break their skins, leading to rot. Unforeseen heat spikes can also dehydrate the grapes, resulting in ‘jammy’ wines.
Vintage variation is more important for small producers
Single Vineyard wines are a great way to experience vintage variations as, generally speaking, this is the only variable between each release. A winery that blends across different vineyards, however, may have the ability to be selective. In this respect, a winemaker can craft a balanced wine from multiple different components that each developed differently due to their specific micro-climate.
This is even more true for a winery that does not bind itself to geographical borders. In Penfolds’ case, the winemaking team strives to make the very best wines they can each year. Where they source the fruit from is determined by the growing conditions and will naturally vary each time – they simply go where the best fruit is.
Why bad vintages can be good
Wineries sometimes have wines that are only released in exceptional vintages, for example; Penfolds Block 42, Saltram The Journal, and Devil’s Lair 9th Chamber. What is often overlooked, however, is that in the vintages that don’t yield these special wines, other wines from the winery benefit as they now comprise this still high-quality fruit.
Why good vintages can be good
Coldstream Hills Winemaker, Andrew Fleming, has stated that 2021 was such a near perfect vintage that it has provided “the best Deer Farm Pinot Noir to date.” It was a cool, long and even growing season that allowed complexity to develop in perfect harmony with the fruit’s natural sugars. In fact, such was the quality that Andrew set aside fruit from two particular blocks within the Deer Farm vineyard; zooming in further on how subtle geographical variations can impact the resulting wine. Demonstrations such as this are rare and are only possible in the most exceptional of vintages.
If we could control the weather, would we even want to?
Ultimately, vintage variation means that each release is unique in its own way. Further to that, it means that each release is finite. These two aspects drive at the very essence of what makes wine so special – and it’s why we appreciate every glass that is poured. We hope you do too.