The Vintage Report | 2022
BY CHIEF VITICULTURIST BART MOLONY
& CHIEF WINEMAKER VIRGINIA WILLCOCK
We went from zero to one hundred very quickly this year. Things took a while to start, however when the harvest was on, it was on! Before we get into those details, let’s rewind to how we got here.
A cool, winter-like spring saw vine growth delayed in development. Rainfall in October was significant.
Summer was dry and warm, with sustained warmth day and night through December, January and February, possibly influenced by another La Niña season.
Veraison for Chardonnay was also delayed by about a month, however after veraison, consistent heat saw a rapid ripening period for all white varieties in our four vineyards across the region. The first Chardonnay harvest began on 16 February and all 154 hectares of our white varieties were harvested extremely quickly, finishing on 10 March.
The fruit quality is excellent with surprising delicacy and elegance for such a warm summer. The major disappointment for white varieties being low yields across the region, for Chardonnay in particular. This was primarily due to spring conditions in the past two years. Spring is significant when it comes to Margaret River vintage development. In good news, an extended trial of four cane trellising is showing sound results to mitigate the risk of spring storms and lowering Gingin Chardonnay yields, and the grapes love it too.
A warm and rapid veraison for reds at average timing in early February saw the Cabernet’s desirable ripe flavours pronounce themselves quickly and beautifully - signs of green characters vanish fast with weather like this. The first blocks were harvested on 16 March, and so far look great. While bunch counts originally looked fantastic, yields are lower than expected, influenced by warm and very dry conditions, thus lower bunch weights and small berries. Vine health remains fantastic. Cabernet quality is high and flavour is concentrated.
This vintage, the vinification program diversified again with the arrival of two, 1800 litre Cocciopesto vessels made from the famous Roman mix of Italian stone, sand, marlstone and terracotta. These follow our addition of concrete vessels last vintage and will assist with fermentation and maturation trials for Cabernet.
A special mention of the locals, stranded backpackers and travelling winemakers who found their way to the Vasse Felix vineyards and winery to help with vintage. In a year like this, where a lot of grapes ripened at once, we couldn’t have upheld our quality standards of hand harvesting and precise timing if we didn’t have so many hands on deck to help us complete another brilliant vintage in Margaret River.
