11 Nov 2011 -

Vintage 2011

2011 was not the easiest of vintages – there was a high potential for mediocrity if proper care was not taken at all times in the vineyard and winery. But the quality of fruit was very good, provided the right decisions were made.

Spring was fantastically settled, almost too good to believe, which led to excellent flowering and fruit set. Spring conditions actually arrived at Christmas, and frequently unsettled weather was the norm right through January and February! Despite this, it was also pretty warm; it was almost too perfect for canopy and bunch development leading to bigger than normal berries, and higher bunch weights as a result. Finally some semblance of normality arrived in March with conditions settling. These settled conditions continued through the balance of autumn, other than one wet spell which highlighted how tender and thin-skinned the berries were this season. In the winery it was a season where the fruit needed empathy, and the direction of the wine was dictated by the fruit.

The regular rainfall events which occurred through summer and early autumn were extremely unusual for Central Otago. The wet conditions encouraged botrytis, the noble rot, to affect our late harvest grapes, while the long dry spell which occurred from mid March then gave these grapes the ability to dry and shrivel. It was a perfect year for sweet style late-harvest wines.

Mt Difficulty Single Vineyard Long Gully Noble Riesling 2011 is our first ever Noble Riesling. To set this vintage apart from earlier Long Gully Riesling releases the 2011 is bottled in a 375ml bottle. The classic citrus and stone-fruit flavours of Long Gully Noble Riesling are richer in 2011 than typical releases, and the residual sugar is 220 grams per litre, almost twice the highest level of any previous year.

Mt Difficulty Single Vineyard Mansons Farm Pinot Gris is an Alsacian style late-harvest wine with concentrated flavour and weight. The grapes are left on the vine for up to a month longer than those for the dry Estate label. This results in a wine which, while still displaying nectarine and peach characters, has a sweeter, richer mouth-feel. The 2011 vintage was, like the Long Gully Noble Riesling, affected by botrytis, though to a far lesser degree. Previous vintages of Mansons Farm have recorded a residual sugar level of around 40 grams per litre; in 2011 the level is 90.