Digging the Dirt on Vintage 2020

Stuart Pym, 24 April 2020

The 2020 vintage will go down as a tumultuous and remarkable one all around the world. Not just from the general world concerns at the moment with COVID-19, but remembering the droughts and fires across much of Australia. It will certainly hold a marked place in history.

From a Margaret River, and Flowstone point of view, we can be considered blessed.

Winter and Spring were pretty usual, with Spring being a little warmer than usual, so an early bud burst, and beginning to the vine growing season occurred. Rain was a bit lighter than usual, but still ample, so no real concern. One morning, towards the end of October, did see some sporadic hail storms throughout the region, but general focussed around Karridale. Some vineyards were significantly damaged, and other nearby vineyards not affected at all.

As it turns out, the Flowstone home vineyard was affected, particularly on the Chardonnay, and our Karridale vineyard was significantly affected. It was not until we harvested the grapes that we really understood to what extent. Our Sauvignon Blanc, and Chardonnay crops were about one third of what we usually expect. This obviously has a significant effect on how much wine we make. The upside is that it does give very concentrated flavours, but not much wine.

The balance of the season was good. Little Summer rain, lovely warm but not extremely hot days and plenty of Marri blossom, so no bird pressure. Harvest was early, and quick.

The resultant wines do look very good, even at this early stage. We are well underway in the winery and we encourage you to look for our upcoming new releases and some special award-winning Queen of the Earth wines around mid-year. We’ll be sharing more news from our tiny home via our Facebook page and Instagram over the coming weeks.