Now the dust has settled on another vintage, we can start to reflect on what was another amazing harvest here in Margaret River.

The 2013 vintage followed a very similar path to 2012 as being one of the warmest vintages in Margaret Rivers short history. Warm to hot conditions during the day with warmer than average nights were the status-quo for the region since early January, with the weather only really cooling down as we moved into March. This meant a very large gap between the harvest of whites and reds. When I last wrote, we had picked all our white grapes in a matter of two short weeks. Intense stuff. But we had time to rest, as we ended up waiting another 28 days to begin picking any reds from the property. That’s certainly a record as far as anyone around here can remember...

But it was worth the wait. The weather warmed up for us again over the Easter break with a warm sunny stretch weather to follow. It really put the finishing touches on the grapes to make another great vintage – particularly for our Estate and Stevens Road vineyards, located further south in Margaret River.  As the grapes began to ripen those classic blackcurrant-cassis characters started appearing in the Cabernet’s – just what we had been waiting for. With the cooler conditions over March, it seemed that for the most part, tannin and sugar ripeness was in harmony with flavour development and maturity, so 2013 should exhibit wonderful natural balance and have great aging potential.

We have just started to blend and stabilize our Sauvignon Blanc Semillon blends as I type. These wonderfully aromatic varieties are outstanding again this year. The Sauvignon Blanc batches are exhibiting with fresh zesty citrus, passion-pip, floral blossom balanced with a herbal/lemongrass purity from the Semillon. Topped off by crisp, moreish and refreshing acidity and you have yourself a damn fine drink. 

The Chardonnay’s continue to develop in barrel with each lees stir. They also have a outstanding core of natural acidity with full rich flavours and beautiful aromatics of white flesh stonefruits, grapefruits with a lovely floral lift. They should be formidable in a few months time when the oak and fruit meshes and melds into unison.

We are also racking the 2013 reds into oak following both primary and malo-lactic fermentation. We have all but one red to press off. This will stay on skins for roughly eight weeks – in the hope to get more supple, velvety, malleable tannins. Soon it will be time to begin blend the 2012 reds. A mouthwatering prospect.

All in all… Vintage 2013 was a great success. Another notch in the belt for the region whose golden run now stretches 7 years. Clear some space in your cellar, the Cabernet Sauvignon’s from Margaret River will be one to collect…

Cheers,

Brendan Carr

It seems we are now truly in the eye of the vintage storm.

The winery is unusually serene at the moment as we wait for the first of the reds to be picked. It has been a good chance for everyone here at the winery to relax, restock the beer fridge and ready themselves for that big red grape-cloud that looms just over the horizon.

Happy New Year to you all!

I hope your festive breaks were full of good company, great food and even better wine!

Here in the winery we are busy preparing for the 2013 harvest. All the 2012 Xanadu Chardonnay’s have now been bottled as well as the 2011 Xanadu reds. It has been great to see these wines develop over the last year, yet it’s a relief to know there are now safe in bottle. Now the challenge is to try and keep our hands of them so there will be some left to release to you when the time is right. These wines are so youthful and vibrant in their infancy they are fascinating too drink right now. It really seems like the fruit is overflowing from the glass. However, they are also so tightly coiled structurally that they do need time to settle, mellow and harmonise. Once these two components come together, the fruit and the structure, the time will be truly right to crack them and we will release them for your drinking pleasure. Until then we will vigilantly ‘taste test’ them every Friday afternoon to make sure things are as they should be. The things we do for you... this winemaking thing really is a tough gig....

Spring time is a lovely time of the year in Margaret River. The vineyards and paddocks are still green from the winter rains. Yet there is lovely burgeoning warmth in the air. The crisp offshore winds have begun to push those winter fronts away and all of a sudden the spring is back in everyone’s step. And the grapevines are no exception. The buds on the vines are beginning to burst as the soil heats up and the days get longer and longer. It seems that every time I drive to work our Lagan Chardonnay block has grown another few inches, like a gentle tap on the shoulder to remind us that the next vintage is just around the corner.

It’s not often you hear of new vineyard being planted these days. In fact you more likely to see or hear about them being pulled out, ‘mothballed’ or just plain forgotten about.

It’s a really tough, cut-throat market to sell wine in today’s climate. The competition from just within Margaret River is incredible with so many great producers in the region. Extrapolate this domestically to the wonderfully diverse wine regions of Australia, and then throw wines from abroad into the mix, such as the ubiquitous Kiwi Sauvignon Blanc, Argentinean Malbec or perhaps a Chilean Carmenere...  I could go on and on. The very best examples of these wines are all exceptional and importantly, all very competitively priced.

Because of this, wine labels are always looking for creative ways to get the upper hand on such a saturated scene. Everyone wants their space on the bottle shop shelf, their listing on the restaurant wine list, their market share. Some labels have succeeded, whether through reputation, creative thinking or just consistently producing bloody good wine. Unfortunately, other wineries have not had the same success. 

That old cliché... You could see it on the back-label of that bottle you just bought, you might hear it at a cheesy wine gala award night, and you can even read about it in those over-priced glossy wine magazines.
'You can’t have good wine without good fruit’
That old chestnut.
Some clichés are just stereotypes, expected and predictable. But some are simply true. This one is the latter.

G'day,

Since my last blog all the 2011 red blends have been finally put together. The Cabernet’s look fantastic, from Next of Kin to Premium to Reserve. All exhibiting the classic hallmarks of great Margaret River Cabernet, cassis, menthol, dark chocolate all beautifully structured. Both the Next of Kin and Premium Xanadu Shiraz's are also now blended and looking brilliant. Both are lovely expressions of Margaret River Shiraz exhibiting great intensity of fruit, spice and structure.

Case study of vigour-based zonal vineyard management and phenolic variation in wine

Precision viticulture technology (such as EM38 and plant cell density imagery) represents a sound approach to understanding spatial variation within vineyards and providing targetted management of these areas. This case study shows that using spatial mapping technology to guide differential harvesting can result in wines with different phenolic characteristics and might also provide insights into vineyard terroir.

Berry desiccation: developing pre-emptive methods to adapt to heat spikes and dry conditions

Mount Langi Ghiran vineyard, in Western Victoria, in collaboration with The University of Melbourne, is researching compounds in vineyards to mitigate the impacts of extreme heat events. Research outcomes show treatments can reduce berry desiccation at statistically significant levels.

Assessing vineyard viability after bushfire.

As another summer approaches the not so distant memories of the 2009 bushfires that swept across Victoria are ever present. A new joint study, detailed in the following research article, has taken a close look at the 2009 impacts and suggests the best ways for grapegrowers to quantify the financial and environmental costs to vines and infrastructure from bushfires.

I’m here to talk about PVD. Post vintage depression. An often undiagnosed condition that strikes winemakers the world over. It’s the changing of the season here in Margaret River. Cold beers are swapped for cold fronts. Board shorts for beanies. Salad for soup. White for Red.

PVD strikes when the glow and excitement of the vintage has worn away and just as the last golden leaves are blown off the vine as do the last cellar hand’s leave for warmer horizons. Some chase the surf in Indonesia, some chase the whale sharks up in WA’s north, some chase recommendations, all chase the sun.

Miss Blanc sits back in one of the dusty well-worn stools at the local dive bar. She's new to town and a little out of her comfort zone as she quietly surveys the down-and-outers whilst sipping on her warm cocktail. It's that sort of stale-beer smelling, smoke-hazed, sticky-floored bar with old punk rock crackling through the juke box. Old signed records and posters are strewn across the walls. This bar wears its history proudly. The gruff, tat-clad, nose-pierced owner, is joined by bums and poets, thieves and once celebrities... Blanc has seen enough, she places her half-finished drink back on the dusty counter and grabs her bag to leave. Until she feels a warm hand on her shoulder...

At the risk of writing a daft vintage blog, I hope to start by sharing my sympathy with those winemakers who sit down to write blogs prior to harvest.  It can’t be easy to make comment when 90% of the story is quietly unfolding in the vineyard and the viticultural  winemakers are relentlessly protecting and crafting the vintage from behind the scene. I find it flattering that people can talk with such optimism about a vintage before it has happened when there is such adversity to be overcome before the first berry touches stainless steel for the very first time. I thank those blog writing winemakers for the trust they share with the broader community that the viticulturists in the vineyard will continue to get it right for them.

Without the smallest of hesitation, I know the vineyard team have excelled in the 2012 vintage in both our growers and our own paddocks. I don’t need to rely on optimism because I have tasted the fruit and it is exceptional. The white vintage is done and to no surprise to the vineyard team, the wines we have produced are going to deliver to our customers a range that will continue to impress both them and the critics. To further this, I am delighted to tell you the reds are also set to impress. I can say this because I have tasted this fruit also and we are 90% of the way to having produced epic reds. I have the same confidence in our winemaking team as they do in us to take that last small step to excellence and harvest this fruit at exactly the right time and treat our remarkable fruit with the same care and attention it has been gifted with over the last 10 months.

If war is to be used as an analogy for the 2012 vintage, then the our wines will have won. It is just up to the winemakers to give the foot soldiers some brief relief and to strengthen the containment lines that have already been put in place.

I expect by the next time we talk, everyone in the Xanadu Wines team will be able to talk about the 2012 vintage and the wines it has produced with as much confidence as I have.

Chief Viticulturist,
Seton Linaker

Well, it’s nice to be back home after spending six months travelling around Oz with the Family. . .

Steve and the team have done a great job at the winery, and it was a real pleasure to come back in October to blend the 2011 Chardonnays. These wines are now in bottle and the Xanadu premium label, in particular, is one of our finest, with the Lagan Estate and Stevens Road vineyards making the lion’s share of the blend. This wine is a beautiful example of taught, fine Chardonnay from southern Margaret River, with wonderful purity and powerful fruit expression. The 2010 Reds too are now in bottle and Margaret River’s dream run of vintages should be evident when these are released next year (Cabernet again the standout variety).

We welcome a new winemaker to the team in 2012. Brendan Carr, who was with us for the 2010 vintage, has returned in a permanent role after a couple of years travelling and making wine in various corners of the world. Apart from Brendan’s talent in the winery, he has already  achieved the ‘early bird’ surfing title (The Golden Mug) as well as stamping his authority on the ping pong table. . . . It’s obviously the calm before the storm as we prepare for vintage 2012.

The warm growing season is likely to see us experience a very early vintage this year. Thumbs up to the vineyard team as things are again looking excellent both at Xanadu and the Stevens Road vineyards. Some recent hot weather has been a little challenging, and will no doubt accelerate our harvest a little, but Margaret River again looks headed for another very good season. Its early days yet, however everyone is looking forward to harvest as new barrels and vintage casuals begin to arrive, heralding the start of vintage in the next couple of weeks.

Chief Winemaker,
Glenn Goodall

November brought some cool Spring weather to Margaret River initially, which has kept the Vineyard team especially busy this month.

In the Winery we continue to look after our excellent 2011 Red batches maturing in oak, racking and returning each batch out of French oak, to tank and back to oak, every three months.

Our 2011 Chardonnay Blends which came out of oak in late October are currently stabilising in tank, awaiting filtration in December and bottling early in the 2012. We are very pleased with the quality of our 2011 Chardonnay.

Over the last couple of weeks we have taken our 2010 Xanadu and Next of Kin Cabernet Sauvignon Blends out of oak in preparation for bottling in the New Year also. Our Cabernet Sauvignon Blends spend the last 3 of their 18 months in oak, in older barrels. This enables the newer oak influences to fully integrate with the wine prior to bottling. We have been blessed with excellent vintages in Margaret River over the last 5 years, the 2010 Xanadu Cabernet Sauvignons are set to continue this theme.

It has been a month of extremes as far as weather conditions are concerned in Margaret River. Thursday 17^th was a miserable day, it rained non stop all day! Unusual for Margaret River and unfortunate for our guests the Harley-Davidson Owners Group who were starting their Rally at Xanadu. Fortunately the weather improved for the remainder of their time at Xanadu and in Margaret River. After such wet weather the following week was a stark contrast. Wednesday 23^rd was hot and windy. By mid morning a couple of controlled burns in bush near the coast of Margaret River became out of control. The photo included in the Blog is taken on this day from Xanadu. It was a terrible sight to witness from the top of our tanks at the winery. On Thursday morning the 24^th the fires looked to be more controlled early, though unfortunately conditions deteriorated quickly with incredibly strong northerly winds. The potential threat to Vineyards, Wineries and homes between the Margaret River Town site and the fires on the coast resulted in evacuations for many from these areas until Saturday 26th, Xanadu included. We and many others were fortunate not to be impacted by the fires, though unfortunately the coastal communities of Prevelly and Gnarabup suffered significant damage and destruction.

At this early stage of grape development in the vineyards the concerns over any smoke taint issues are minor.

While Margaret River was under such terrible pressure from the fires, The National Wine Show of Australia and the Margaret River Wine Show were announcing Trophy and Medal winners.

Xanadu has performed extremely well at both shows, with a couple of major awards at each show.

Cheers,
Steve Kyme
Assistant Winemaker

October has been a satisfying month in the Winery at Xanadu. The lovely Spring weather has been inspiring to get some housekeeping done around the winery between our racking and return of the red batches in oak.

Our 2011 Chardonnays in oak had their last stir & top, which we have done every 3 weeks over the last 9 months, which contributes to the complexity and texture of the wines.

Our Senior Winemaker Glenn Goodall made a flying visit from the East Coast (from his family’s round Australia trip) to finalise the blending of Xanadu’s 2011 Chardonnays.

The quality of the 2011 vintage has enabled us to put together another Xanadu Reserve Chardonnay from our Lagan Vineyard and a Single Vineyard Chardonnay from our Stevens Road Vineyard.

The Xanadu 2011 Chardonnay Blend is looking like it could be our best to date and in turn our 2011 Next of Kin Chardonnay Blend looks superb.

October is a busy month on the Australian Wine Show circuit and we have been fortunate to follow up our success at the Royal Perth Wine Show in September, where we received 2 Gold Medals for our 2009 Xanadu Chardonnay and Cabernet Sauvignon.

Royal Adelaide Wine Show; 2 Gold Medals for 2008 Xanadu Chardonnay and 2010 Xanadu Sauvignon Blanc Semillon.

QANTAS Wine Show of Western Australia; A trophy for the 2007 Xanadu Cabernet Sauvignon and 2 Gold Medals for 2010 Xanadu Reserve Chardonnay.

Royal Melbourne Wine Show; 4 Gold Medals for the 2009 & 2010 Xanadu Reserve Chardonnay’s, 2009 Xanadu Chardonnay and 2009 Next of Kin Cabernet Sauvignon.

Cheers,
Steve Kyme
Assistant Winemaker

After a beautiful taste of Spring weather in Margaret River at the beginning of September we have returned to Winter with wind and rain over the last couple of weeks.

Our 2011 Next of Kin Sauvignon Blanc Semillon is being bottled this month, which will be ready for release shortly and an excellent follow up to our successful 2010 vintage wine.

The 2011 Chardonnay batches in oak continue to be stirred and topped every three weeks. We will begin to look at our potential blends for 2011 Reserve, Single Vineyard, Xanadu and Next of Kin Chardonnays next month which is exciting.

August has been a busy month in the Winery at Xanadu. Our Winemaker Glenn Goodall has taken his long service leave, headed North with his family and caravan to escape the Margaret River winter, then continue around the continent.

We have bottled our 2011 Xanadu SauSemillon, Viognier & Rose which are looking great. Our 2011 Next of Kin Sauvignon Blanc Semillon and 2011 Xanadu Cane Cut Semillon Sauvignon Blanc are currently being prepared for bottling in early September. All wines to look forward to after another great vintage in Margaret River.

Nathan Scarlett
Technical Viticulturist - Rathbone Wine Group

Climate change is real (IPCC 2007). This fact has been recently reconfirmed with greater certainty by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC 2011). The impact of seasonal weather on winegrapes is well understood by viticulturists, hence our obsession over short/long-term weather predictions to help our viticultural planning.  “To state that grape and wine production is highly sensitive to climatic variability is almost a platitude” states Prof. Keller from Washington State University in a fascinating review article on climate change and optimizing fruit development for viticulturists (Keller 2010). RWG vineyards (Yering Station, Mount Langi Ghiran, Parker Coonawarra and Xanadu), other wine companies and the research science community are already planning for climate change and initiating adaptive capability. With continued focus, the future looks bright for continuing our regional wine styles and maintaining the ability to make world class wines. We just need to be smart, progressive and able to rapidly respond to our weather conditions. The aim of viticultural adaptive responses is to maintain vine health and fruit/vineyard site integrity.