Those in the know say it will be interesting to taste this year's vintage wines. Photo / Getty Images
Those in the know say it will be interesting to taste this year's vintage wines. Photo / Getty Images
After each year’s harvest, the wineries’ press releases are usually upbeat – after all, they need to sell the wine. The good news is that Patrick Materman, director of winegrowing at Indevin – owner of Villa Maria – believes 2024 was “exceptional”. During the vines’ flowering period, variable weather reducedthe potential size of the grape crop, but a shift in mid-December to an El Niño weather pattern brought dry, settled conditions. “Even at this early stage, the resulting wines appear to be of fantastic quality.”
In Marlborough, where 70% of the country’s grapevines are clustered, several producers have noted their crops were smaller than usual. Materman suggests the wines from 2024 will offer ripe, pure, intense varietal flavours. Pinot noir “shows deep colour and rich flavour but retains the all-important perfume and elegance”.
Clos Henri, near Renwick, is owned by Henri Bourgeois, a top, family-run producer based in the Loire Valley, France. After a dry winter, spring and summer, “the vines were working on conserving their water intake to the point where our berry sizes were tiny.” From its stoniest soils, Clos Henri harvested sauvignon blanc possessing “tension and structure, coupled with an intensity and richness which balance wonderfully with a bright peach and ripe fruit flavour”.
In Hawke’s Bay, the second-largest region with 11% of the country’s vines, hot, dry weather from mid-December onwards coupled with light crops accelerated ripening. Chris Scott, chief winemaker at Church Road, reported harvesting chardonnay of “amazing” quality. According to Materman, the dryness was “fabulous for our red varieties grown on the Gimblett Gravels”.
The picture is less clearcut in Central Otago, the third-largest region with 5% of the total vineyard area. A cold spring caused some frost damage to the vines, December and January were warm and dry, but one winegrower reported March weather as “horrible”.
Jen Parr, winemaker at Valli, views quality and quantity across Central Otago’s sub-regions as unusually variable. Mondillo Vineyards, based in Bendigo, a relatively warm district, harvested later than some producers in the cooler Gibbston district. “It’s going to be interesting to taste this vintage’s wines,” says CEO Ally Mondillo.
Wine of the week
Mount Brown Estates North Canterbury Riesling 2023
Bargain-priced, this is an unusually powerful style of riesling. Scented and sturdy, it has a distinct splash of sweetness and strong, ripe, citrusy, peachy, slightly honeyish flavours. Already drinking well, it’s worth discovering. (14% alc/vol) $17
