Nose
A lifted combination of red and dark fruits; reminiscent of ripe red currants and blackberries. This is supported by Merlot’s typical complex earthy background, with mushrooms, dried herbs, talcum powder and wax. The oak treatment is restrained and sits as a slightly smoky finish.
Palate
The initial impression is a wine of medium to full body, with bright red currant fruit flavours. These overlay a firm tannin structure that runs through the middle and back palate but is balanced but good fruit weight and body, leaving a smooth texture. The oak flavours give a slightly spicy and tarry finish.
Growing Conditions
growing season was one where things happened quickly. Conditions during Spring were relatively warm and dry, quite atypical for Margaret River, so flowering was over for most varieties in little more than a week. This theme of good vintage conditions continued throughout and we anticipated a slightly earlier-than-average harvest. However, conditions warmed through January and reached a peak by the Australia Day Holiday when the temperature reached 40 degrees. This, along with two additional, though slightly less savage, heat spikes brought all the grapes rapidly through to full ripeness and produced our earliest vintage on record.
The impact on the different varieties was varied. Merlot, with an average harvest date of 19th March was picked 7 days earlier on 12th March. Its actual season length was 112 days, compared to the average of 116 days. Cabernet Franc, with an average harvest date of 19th March, in 2007, was picked on 25th February, 22 days early. The actual season length was 110 days, compared to an average of 121 days.
Grape condition was excellent, with no disease and no damage from bird attack, although without nets the losses from this would have been quite high. The silvereyes were hungry enough to try dive bombing the nets in an effort to get to the grapes.
Yields were slightly below average, across all varieties. Merlot declined to from its long term average of 9.21 t/ha to 7.34 t/ha (20%) and likewise Cabernet Franc, which produced 7.33 t/ha, compared to 10.35 t/ha (29%).
At Moss Wood and this is probably true for most companies, yield forecasts and their accuracy are seen as a personal and professional challenge. Perhaps this is a sad reflection of the small things that amuse small viticultural minds but in the context of wine quality, it is worthy of further discussion. In essence, the process is simple. As the season nears flowering the vineyard is sampled to get an estimate of the number of bunches per vine. Once it’s completed, an estimate of the bunch weight is made based on the conditions that prevailed – good conditions mean heavier bunches. The two are combined to give a likely yield figure. Readers will note this uses some science and lots of art and hence the challenge. However, it is important for planning, like ordering new barrels and it’s also valuable in influencing final quality in some varieties where we set a maximum yield.
