February for us marks the onset of vintage here in theClare Valley.It’s what so many of us spend months gearing up and planning for- the entire year prior requires constant work and nurturing of our vineyards to ensurevines are prepped and ready for the vintage season ahead.

This season is what we are all about-creating another vintage of wines that we can put our signatureon.

We have kickstarted with picking our white grape varieties, with our beloved Semillon before picking the Riesling and lets hope the weather continues to behave for us!

Our fourvineyardsall have different soil profiles and are exposed to varying weather extremities which can alter the rate that even the same varieties, just on different patches of vineyard, can ripen.

Yields in our white varieties are looking strong all things considered. However even at the highest predicted yields, our whites will still fall below the long-ranging average.

Red varieties will follow in trend, with smaller yields across the board. This has been a direct result of the extreme heat we experienced at flowering time, greatly decreasing the fruit set.

Overall yields might be low, but we’re confidentofthe quality of this year’s fruit. The grapes are maturing beautifully and are presentingconcentrated flavours that are developing well across all varieties. Our redshave very small berries which will lead to rich colour and depth of tannin in both our Shiraz and Cabernet.

While we’reexcited to see how all our grape varieties develop into fully-fledgedMitchell wines, we’re most excited with the way our Riesling and Grenache grapes have developed, throwing off beautifully rich and promising flavours.

The overall milder weather since Christmas has seen our seen our fruit through veraison and the rainfall received over the last month has slowed things down slightly but also has been a relief, providing our vines with a much-needed drink. All going well, this rainfall should see our vines through vintage nicely. 

We’re excited to be kicking off ourharvestand we feel confidentthere willlotsof great wines produced in the Clare Valley region for the 2020 vintage – andMitchell Wineswill beatestament to that!

Tune in to our social media pages for more updates on the vintage as the grapes keep rolling in!Facebook&Instagram