VINTAGE 2024 by Matt
The Season
Vintage 2024 is – without any doubt – my favourite vintage yet. I have now completed 19 vintages in the Strathbogie Ranges. Generally I have enjoyed them all (but least the ones plagued by bushfires in 2007 and 2009), so it is surprising to feel so strongly about 2024. But Vintage 24 is my favourite for a few reasons…
In the past five years, along with Covid which made everything that bit more challenging, we have experienced extremely low yields and major flooding in the region. This has made everything more difficult. The low yields often means good quality but, can make our accountants unhappy! The heavy rainfall is often welcomed by the vines, but makes the management of them much trickier throughout the season – our vineyard team has excelled themselves – there were times we literally could not even drive into vineyard blocks. I’ve never seen so many vehicles bogged and we wore out the tread on our gumboots! Anyway, it is partly that backdrop that makes the 2024 vintage so special. All the weather bureaus were predicting a very dry summer, but for us we received strong winter, spring and early summer rain. Not as much as the recent flood years, but enough to have green grass late into February which is extremely unusual. This helps set up the vines for success, which was just as well because around mid-January, the rain stopped and we had the most remarkably kind weather – warm days and cool nights which allow the grapes time to ripen and accumulate flavour. Fresh fruit, full of intensity and good yields.
The folks at James Halliday Wine Companion reached out to us and asked for a vintage summary. For the first time ever, I gave both the whites and the reds 9/10! (I have never awarded a 10/10 in any vintage.) Across the board, the fruit is absolutely outstanding: Riesling, Chardonnay, Arneis, Vermentino, Pinot Noir, Merlot, Shiraz and Cabernet Sauvignon. The other varieties – Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Gris, Sangiovese, Mourvedre – are also very strong and in any other year would be considered amongst the very best. Consistency across all varieties like this is rarely seen.
So after a few challenging vintages, and a challenging time in life, Mother Nature has blessed us with one of the all time greats in 2024. Which is exactly why we do what we do!