Vintage 2024: Central Otago
With a late frost last year, a hailstorm in February, and frost fighting in March, some subregions of Central Otago have been kept on their toes this season.
The quality of fruit is "really good", says Michael Brajkovich, but yields are around 40% down on the long-term average at their Kumeu site, and at least 50% down at Raukawa in Hawke's Bay, thanks to inclement weather during initiation and flowering. Michael also believes last year's sodden soils, including the downpours of Cyclone Gabrielle, have depleted vineyard health. "You can't have that much water run through the soil profile and not have an effect on nutrition." They have been soil sampling to see "what the story is" in order to mitigate the impact.
Despite a wet winter and spring, which meant tractors couldn't get into the vines, the growing season was a complete turnaround from 2023, with a "kind of El Niño” that saw soil moisture completely depleted before vintage. Michael says one rain event of around 20mm "kept the lawns alive, but not much more than that". He welcomed the long run of dry, warm (but not too hot) conditions this season, with daytime temperatures between 25C and 28C ensuring even ripening.
The lower volumes but high quality will mean less production of the lower priced Village range, but also less of the hallowed single vineyard wines, with the Estate range getting much of the fruit. Michael says light seasons like this one remind him why historically the best vineyards in Burgundy have two things in common: that they produce good wine every year, and those wines can age, "so you can ride through those humps and hollows".
Tai Nelson at Soljans Estate says harvest carried very low disease incidence, except for some late-season downy and powdery mildew in the canopy after the "rain dump" in February. He's also seeing low crops but high quality, "so we are looking forward to the wines that come out of this vintage".
