Vintage 2023: It’s a Wrap

“Amidst the chaos, there is beauty.”

Our chief winemaker, Damian Hutton, couldn’t have summed up the 2023 vintage more accurately. Ninety-eight days, 2300 tonnes crushed, 400,000 litres of wine, and 106 wines produced from 27 varietals across six wine regions.

 While vintage has drawn to an end, there was no time for respite as Damian and his team began bottling some of the new wines from the 2023 vintage this week.

“The conditions across Western Australia’s wine regions were incredible this vintage. By the time the weather began to turn, we had already harvested our fruit from the Swan Valley, Perth Hills, Geographe, Margaret River, Great Southern and Blackwood wine regions,” says Damian.

“The fruit quality was quite exceptional and really did not need much intervention from a winemaking perspective. The flavours, clarity and vibrancy in the fruit speaks volumes. Our Italian varietals are growing beautifully in our Swan Valley vineyard — and this was the first year we picked our Pedro Ximenez for our fortifieds range.”

“This is my 29th vintage in Western Australia and it is easily the best Chenin Blanc I have ever crafted.”

“There is a delightful floral character in our wines this vintage and an enticingly ripe and fresh fruit flavour spectrum across the board.”

It was a labour of love for our industrious winemaking team, who worked with such a diverse range of varietals — from Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon, Chenin Blanc, Grenache, Gamay and Gewurztraminer to Malbec, Merlot, Petit Verdot, Riesling, Semillon, Sauvignon Blanc, Shiraz, Tempranillo, Verdelho and Viognier.

Let’s not forget some of our other Mediterranean varietals: Arinto, Arneis, Dolcetto, Fiano, Vermentino, Tourega Nacionale, Mencia, Montepulciano, Mourverdre, Nero d’Avola and Pedro Ximinez.  A new addition to our Gallery collection this year is a 100% Montepulciano, among others.

Our tanks and barrels are near capacity as 400,000 litres of wine continues to rest and mature until deemed ready for bottling.