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.
 

Vintage 2022 | Winery Experiments

This vintage, the vinification program diversified again with the arrival of two, 1800 litre Cocciopesto vessels (affectionately known as "Drunk Turtles") 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 and Sauvignon Blanc.⁠

Winemaker Tim Fearon runs through the evolution of our Sauvignon Blanc and the importance of plunging skin contact ferments to get air into the ferment and unearth flavours and tannins⁠.⁠
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This programme is integral to our Premier Sauvignon Blanc, the skin contact adds complexity and a powdery, dry tannin finish, which is then being fermented in our Cocciopestos 

 

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An experimental arm of our winery program is fermenting in different materials, rather than traditionally used stainless steel tanks or oak barrels, with the above detailing our winery team cleaning and filling concrete eggs with Malbec.
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These experiments allow us to discover how different materials lend themselves to our wine, which unearths different and exciting characteristics, changing the way we think about certain varietals and allowing us to incorporate elements into our full-time program.⁠

Vintage 2022 | In the Winery with Tim and Charline

We are currently waiting in keen anticipation for the balance of our red grapes to finish ripening, having just picked some Shiraz and the first parcels of Cabernet Sauvignon.⁠ ⁠During the brief pause, work in the winery continues as our team tend to bubbling ferments. Meet Tim Fearon and Charline Sautour from the winery team, who share some of their experiences below.

Tim Fearon

Tim is an integral part of our permanent winemaking team and his passion for pushing boundaries when it comes to winemaking is evident. ⁠
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His favourite wine that he has had involvement with is our 2020 Sauvignon Blanc due to its texture, structure and stylistic evolution (including full skins ferments and large format oak); showcasing the power of what a Margaret River Sauvignon Blanc can be. ⁠
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Tim is intrigued with the ongoing investigation into alternative ageing methods and vessels for our Cabernet Sauvignon and the scope it allows for expressing the nuances of individual parcels and vineyard blocks, whilst just as importantly, pursuing a path of longer-term sustainability.⁠

 

Charline Sautour

⁠Passionate Winemaker Charline hails from Bordeaux, France, but has called Margaret River home for nine years. ⁠
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Her first vintage was in 2013 in Chateau Pape Clément (Pessac Léognan) straight after finishing her Masters in Oenology and Viticulture.⁠
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When asked about her favourite wine, she said it was hard to choose and that the decision came down to the weather, food and of course the camaraderie of good company.⁠
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Vintage 2022 | Red Update

Chief Winemaker Virginia Willcock shares the latest on the harvest of our red varietals. 

 

Vintage 2022 | Boodijdup J Block Chardonnay

The J Block plot in our Boodjidup Vineyard in the Wallcliffe area of Margaret River, with its coarse gravels over clay, has proven to grow Chardonnay with a very original, noteworthy personality.⁠ ⁠

Vintage 2022 | Picking for the Heytesbury Chardonnay

Last week's morning sunrise harvest at our Darch E Block in our Boodjidup Vineyard. Some of our "Grand Cru" plots, this block unearths immaculate parcels of Gingin clone Chardonnay, with these fruit parcels finding their way time and again into our Heytesbury Chardonnay given their striking character, phenolic tension and palette weight, which are unique to this site.

We look forward to the 2022 Heytesbury expression, with some snippets of this pick below, as well as Chief Winemaker, Virginia Willcock's update on vintage 2022.

 

 

 

Vintage 2022 | Week 1

The week just gone saw the arrival of our 2022 vintage crew to the Estate, which includes some specialist winemakers who were able to join us from interstate, alongside our longstanding winemaking and viticulture teams. ⁠
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Our annual welcome breakfast of bacon and egg rolls set the perfect tone for the crew to settle in, meet the broader Vasse Felix team and share stories of vintages past and present, from wine regions around the world.

The excitement for vintage 2022 has been palpable, with scenes below from the first harvest of Gingin clone Chardonnay from the Gibraltar blocks in our Home Vineyard, with fruit looking pristine. ⁠Catch Chief Winemaker Virginia Willcock's recap on the first week of vintage below.⁠

A huge thank you to everyone who has signed up for the all-important job to help us handpick the grapes this season, we look forward to sharing more behind the scenes stories from vintage soon.⁠

Follow @vassefelixwines on Instagram for more.

 

In Anticipation of Vintage 2022

Our vineyard teams remain busy preparing for vintage 2022. Some recent scenes from Tom's Blocks in our Home Vineyard depict Bart Molony our Chief Viticulturist, undertaking the important and sentimental job of restoring a couple of rows that were grafted to Shiraz in previous decades, back to Cabernet Sauvignon.
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These canes are now at a stage where they need to be tied to wire to encourage desired vine structure and promote future growth and yields. We are looking forward to seeing the expressions these vines will unearth on our original heritage Cabernet rootstocks.

We are also starting to see our Gibraltar Block, Home Vineyard Chardonnay moving through veraison after a slightly slower start to the growing season - a result of cooler spring conditions.

Our vineyard team will be keenly monitoring these parcels and their soil health, as they continue to ripen and develop their distinct flavours and we look forward to unearthing these expressions that are so crucial to our Icon and Premier wines.

Discover more below.

In Preparation for Summer

⁠The Viticulture team have been busy preparing our vineyards for the coming Vintage as they turn their attention to under-vine weeding and composting. 

Scenes from the Home Vineyard below detail mechanical under-vine weeding, a process that helps to eliminate undergrowth competing for nutrients and incorporate organic matter into the soil.

The team have been turning compost, a mix of leftover grape marc, cow manure and woodchips to ensure aeration so that material can break down quickly and evenly. Turning over compost also acts as a way to control the temperature so that vital microbes do not burn out. This high-value compost is then applied to weaker areas to deliver nutrients that help strengthen struggling vines ahead of Vintage. It also acts as a mulch helping soil retain moisture in the warmer months.⁠

After a cooler Spring, the vines have been enjoying the sunshine over the last weeks, timed beautifully to help with their development.⁠ Keep scrolling for more highlights.

 

Vasse Felix Reviews for The West Australian Wine Guide 2022

We are thrilled with the reviews of vintages from the past year as featured in The West Australian Wine Guide 2022 by Ray Jordan.

We are particularly excited to see our icon wines, the 2019 Heytesbury Chardonnay and 2017 TOM CULLITY, receiving stellar reviews. For us these reviews reflect our commitment to making 'the best possible wine' with the two varietals Margaret River is known for, Cabernet Sauvignon and Chardonnay.

Full reviews can be found below.

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Vasse Felix Filius Chardonnay 2020 

92 Points
"There’s a crunchy purity about this entry-level chardonnay. Vibrant acidity lifts the citrus tang and grapefruit character with the light touch of oak just adding a little to the palate without compromising what is designed as an early-drinking wine. A joy to drink. 
Cellar: 5 years "

Vasse Felix Chardonnay 2019 

96 Points
"A wonderful expression of this cool vintage, displaying more restraint and delicacy than the marvellous 2018. Wild yeast and some malolactic fermentation have contributed to the beautifully textured mouthfeel. Minerally with a fine citrus edge cuts through a palate of intensity and depth that explodes through to a very long finish. 
Cellar: 7 years"

Vasse Felix Heytesbury Chardonnay 2019 

98 Points
"Refined and so elegantly crafted chardie. Has more new oak than the standard chardie, but the power and intensity of the fruit handles it easily. Without a hint of excessiveness. Only natural yeasts are used and it gets nine months in oak with some battonage. Has a slightly charry character that augments the intense grapefruit and pear characters on the palate. Long and defined palate. One of the finest yet under this label. 
Cellar: 12 years"

 

Vasse Felix Filius Cabernet Sauvignon 2019 

93 Points
"This great-value cabernet has become a winner for Vasse Felix. Blackcurrant varietal fruit with a bay leaf and perfumed red berry lift on the nose. A trace of dusty oyster shell on the palate. So well balanced and focused to a long finish. 
Cellar: 10 years"

Vasse Felix Premier Cabernet Sauvignon 2018

96 Points
"Oh, my. What a stunning wine, made more stunning when you can get it for less than $50. Deep and concentrated power delivered with integrated elegance and poise. This is classically structured cabernet displaying all the power and purpose you get from this variety in a great year from Margaret River. Chalky tannins, powerhouse middle core with a great lingering finish. Deep, leafy, oyster shell cabernet minerality. You simply must get some of this.
Cellar: 15 years"

Vasse Felix Tom Cullity Cabernet Malbec 2017 

97 Points
"This is an 82 per cent cabernet-dominant blend, making it the highest percentage of cabernet of any of the release to date. Immediately strikes as the most restrained, elegant and medium bodied of any of the vintages. Now, there is a deal of tannin astringency evident on the palate but it sits snuggly within. Fine, silky tannins and what appears to be about an average amount of new French oak consistent with the rest of the wines, with 2016 being an exception. This to me is another wine that strongly reflects the vintage, which tends more towards medium body and restraint- elegance. To me this is a wine you will drink earlier before the others are ready, but it is still a very good wine.
Cellar: 25 years"