2008 vintage report, Deakin Estate
30th June 2008
Deakin Estates vineyards are located at Redcliffs in the North West Victorian wine region of ‘The Murray Darling’. Long summers and gentle winters provide the ideal environment for the flavour rich, fruity varietals that make up the Deakin Estate Range.
Annual mean daily Maximum Temp. – 24.5⁰c
Annual Mean Daily Minimum Temp. – 10.4⁰c
Mean Annual rainfall – 268.1mm
Mean Number of Clear days per year – 143.2
* Source – Bureau of Meteorology Australia
CRAIG THORNTON – VINEYARD MANAGER
The main challenge for the 2008 vintage was the supply of water. The Murray River catchments over the past few years had receding, un-replenished storage levels and it was difficult to know what percentage of our normal water we would end up with to grow our crops. Deakin Estate were not alone in this predicament, the restriction on the supply of water was Murray Darling Basin wide.
Early in the growing season we settled on a probable water allocation by veraison (fruit ripening) and we set about applying a water budget within this target. There were only small allocations of water given to irrigators in the early part of the season by authorities, so the strategic use of this water was imperative. Deakin Estate used all of its tools to determine daily water requirements so fruit quality would not be compromised. A relief did occur in the season, rainfall fell in the catchment during November and December increasing water allocations to the Murray Darling Basin.
Vintage was like clock work, white wine varieties matured evenly and there were few instances of varieties overlapping to hinder grape intake.
In contrast red wine grape varieties began to ripen more quickly in late February, although manageable intake tonnages were increased to make sure we did not impact wine quality due to over ripe grapes.
Because of the pace of winegrape deliveries the vineyard and winemaking team took time out to strategically schedule fruit deliveries into the winery. This season Deakin Estate used plant cell density (determination of vine vigour using infra red cameras) information to help schedule “like with like” fruit delivery, something we had trialled with researchers for 3 years previous on Deakin Estate’s trial vineyards.
The current results of the trial are clear in terms of strategic maturity sampling and delivered grape quality.
DR.PHIL SPILLMAN, WINEMAKER.
Deakin Estate’s 2008 vintage started early, on Monday 14th January, and unfolded in a very orderly manner. The process took three months, and we are exceptionally pleased with how the wines are developing.
WHITE WINES
The sparkling Chardonnay and Pinot Noir came in, first of course, and they were fermented and bedded down by early February. They’re benefiting now from extended yeast lees contact. The blend looks very strong: a potent but stylish combination of freshness and complexity.
The Sauvignon Blanc was very early in flavour ripeness and we picked some low Baumé parcels because the flavours moved squarely into lime and honeydew melon territory by late January. The resultant blend alcohol is lower than usual at only 11.0%, which will please many consumers. Apart from the lower alcohol, our customers can expect much the same in style and quality as the popular 2007.
Following the interest generated by the 2007 Moscato, we have substantially increased the make-volume for the 2008. There has been plenty of interest for a super fresh, slightly spritzy, appley/floral wine at 4.5% alcohol.
The 2008 Moscato is delightful, with the usual ultra bright, leap-out-of-the-glass fruit aromas.
The Chardonnay was picked earlier than usual, not due to early flavour development (although there was plenty of that) but because we’d decided to move the style further towards a citrus/nectarine style. The result is a fruit bomb and I’m sure this style redefinition is going to be popular.
Most of the whites were complete before any appreciable tonnages of red began to fill our red fermenters.
RED WINES
Merlot was harvested early and the wines have turned out to be probably the best of that variety we’ve made for many years.
As for the other two main red varieties, we’ve made some absolutely ripper Shiraz and Cabernet batches so Crackerjack is in great shape, and the Deakin reds will be extremely strong. I think that the 2008 Deakin Shiraz is destined to be a standout.
There’s been plenty of small lot, experimental winemaking this year, too. We’re exploring the viticultural and winemaking potential for new releases such as Pinot Grigio, Viognier, Brut Rose, Pinot Noir and Tempranillo, and there are some really exciting results.
