2014 was an interesting vintage. Our viticulturist and winemaker faced challenges throughout the year. As a general truth good wine starts with good grapes. In 2014 it was not easy to make good wine; but it was not impossible.
A mild and dry winter was followed by drought from the start of the year into Spring. The first six months of the year had less rain than all but two of the preceding ten years. Despite this, and low daytime humidity, we still had heavy morning dew which increased the risk of powdery mildew throughout the entire season.
Between June and September the rain, missing from the beginning of the year, arrived. The weather was so hot and we had such a high humidity that our viticulturist had to combat numerous diseases. Heavy rain during the harvest season too led to a considerable degree of rot. An extremely careful selection of the grape bunches and berries was required to give us a small crop of fine quality.
The few grapes which were selected have produced excellent wines with great acidity. Sadly, as yields were reduced by up to 80%, there will be very few bottles available.
