6/27/2023 0 Comments Village winesOur Rays Road vineyard performed admirably in Hawke's Bay, with the grapes ripening a few days later than our Kumeu vineyards. 2021 was my 40th Vintage at Kumeu, and I have never seen a run of vintages of this quality before. History will see 2021 sitting very nicely in the trio of outstanding vintages: '19, '20 and '21. Pinot Gris also shone through this year with very high sugar levels and some Botrytis influence producing rich and textural wines. The Chardonnay wines, and in particular the Single Vineyards, look incredible. In Kumeu, the frost damage had lowered yields by 30-40%, but the overall quality was exceptional. We completed harvest by 9 March, about three weeks ahead of usual. These relatively cool to warm and dry conditions allowed for slow grape maturation and the development of excellent fruit aromas and flavours. Usually, we can expect a few days over 30☌, but this year the maximum temperature was 29.2° on 9 December, and nothing came near that right through January and February. The growing season rainfall was only sporadic, maintaining the dry conditions, and the temperatures were moderately warm, hovering around the mid to high twenties right through the ripening season. Harvest commenced on 5 February 2021 for the Crémant production, the earliest we have started vintage in living memory. Total rainfall in 2020 was just over 800mm, compared to the typical year of 1200-1400mm. Conditions have been quite dry for a while now. Flowering took place well ahead of normal, and it was apparent that the season would be very early this year. Similarly, there were frost events at our Rays Road Vineyard in Hawke's Bay, but the wind machine we installed recently did the job, and fortunately, the damage was minimal. Spring came early again, but there were frosts to contend with in late September, one, in particular, causing damage to many of our Kumeu vineyards. The winter of 2020 was relatively mild and dry.
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