Western Australia’s early vintage this year is likely to yield some of the best red wine ever produced, according to several winemakers.
“We have had a sensational vintage,” Howard Park owner Jeff Burch said. “People are wildly excited about the reds and there is a good probability that they will be the best the state has ever seen.”
Alkoomi owner Merv Lange agrees that this year could be the pick of the bunch.
“The quality is terrific,” Mr Lange said.
“The reds are similar to 1999 and that was a fantastic year. This vintage will rival that one and that’s just fabulous for the industry.”
But there will be less red fruit bearing the 2007 label after an unusually cool summer in 2005 and dry winter last year meant vines for this year’s vintage produced smaller berries and smaller bunches of grapes.
Unlike the cool 2006 summer, which left many producers with unripened red wine grapes, this year’s warm summer kick-started the ripening process and the smaller crop levels has left red fruit bursting with flavour, resulting in the earliest vintage on record.
“This vintage is a big jump up from last year,” Mr Lange said. “There are much more intense flavours in the fruit.”
Vanya Cullen of Cullen Wines said the fruit produced from her winery was “outstanding”.
Ms Cullen said this year was the earliest the vintage had ended, while last year was the latest.
Wine Industry Association of WA president John Griffiths is a consultant winemaker for wineries including Sittella and Ferngrove Vineyards, as well as making his own label, Faber Vineyard.
“Quite frankly, it’s a stunner vintage,” Mr Griffiths said.
“We are going to see some serious and complex red wines in about three years’ time. The colour, the flavour, the intensity, the aromas are just fantastic.”
Mr Griffiths said white varieties like riesling and sauvignon blanc had also come up to a high standard.
One of WA’s biggest growers, Neil Delroy, said the 2007 vintage was “the best vintage ever in terms of quality”.
