2014 Vintage Update: Pétanque & Rosé

Dear fans of Best’s or just those who are curious,

We are now over the hump of grape intake with only a few vineyards of Shiraz and Cabernet waiting to be picked. The weather has been kind to us, with cooler weather slowing down ripening, but the cooler nights have made sure we are hanging on to the acidity. This type of weather during ripening is what some like to call hang-time. No, we are not hanging out playing pétanque and sipping rosé, but we are allowing the grapes to hang on the vine to allow the flavours to fully develop without having to rush to get them all into the winery.

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Having a bit more time in the winery has meant that we are able to give a bit more attention to our ferments and give them all the care and attention they deserve. We are also well into our barrel program with those lovely smells of warm wine going into warm barrels. We try to keep them warm to ensure the rapid onset of malolactic fermentation before winter hits.

The past week we have received the bulk of grapes for our Bin 1 Shiraz. We are seeing lots of jube like flavours and lip smacking spice, this bodes well for an aromatic Bin 1. Our team has been very busy with punch-downs, pump-overs, yeast inoculations, ferment rounds, temperature control, digging out ferments, basket and bag pressing and washing and filling barrels.

We have had less challenges with break downs, but tasting lots of ferments to determine tannins and flavour balance has had a side effect of producing lots of flatulence, much to bemusement of my colleagues.

Got to go now, it's my turn on the pétanque piste…

Justin