[question] Question submitted by Andrew Brough, Australia. Many Tasmanian vinyard owners have described the 2004 vintage as extremley difficult, yet their appears to be some very good wines produced, particularly amongest the rieslings. Bream Creek, Pooley & Frogmore Creek all seem good. What is your take on this vintage? [/question] [answer] Here is the text from the 2005 edition of my book, which discussed the 2004 Tasmanian vintage: ‘Whether or not a particular vineyard made quality Tasmanian wine in 2004 depended as much as anything else on the approach taken towards its viticultural management. If its owners got greedy and missed some pretty obvious signs, they got burned. Fruit set was huge, following massive inflorescences, but January was unseasonably cold. The cold spell lasted until mid February, but many growers unwisely left their potential record crops (which in were not uncommonly around three times normal yield) hanging on their vines. Some heat in later February and March got the lower-cropping vineyards through to full ripeness, but rain and poor weather began again in late March, well before most fruit was picked. Botrytis was a significant issue, and several hundred tonnes of grapes were not picked. Some were still harvesting in June. Hmmm.’ In other words, much of the result for 2004 came down to the quality of vineyard management. Glancing through my notes, riesling appeared to perform best, with terrific wines from Bay of Fires, Freycinet, Pipers Brook (which also made great Gewurztraminer), Tamar Ridge and Wellington. The best pinot I have tasted was from Stefano Lubiana, while the best Chardonnay is the Hardy’s Eileen, which also incorporated some Yarra Valley material. So, I agree entirely with your assessment for riesling, but would say overall that the number of excellent wines across a range of styles was less than usual. [/answer]
