27 February 2013 - Vintage 2013 is well underway with the Riesling and the Traminer grapes hand-
picked this week and awaiting cartage to winemaker Jo Irvine to infuse her magic.

Due credit to Mandy Evans and her vine management skills, the contract team was impressed with the quality of the fruit, and so far this season, the best they've picked!

We're confident the soaking rain experienced today hasn't damaged the grapes yet to be harvested as it was steady but light fall leaving the skins unbroken and relatively little impact on baume.

24 April - 2013 Vintage wrap-up

The 2013 vintage harvest is now over having commenced sooner than usual owing to last summer's early heat.  Spring 2012 was dry and winter drier than average, yet the vines weathered well with healthy fruit from which our anticipated modest yields has produced good quality.

Winemaker, Jo Irvine, has produced the 2013 Riesling-Traminer and describes the wine as good if not better than 2012!

The yields were average for the red wine grapes and the crushing has been undertaken by Ben Radford of Radford Wines with fermentation now underway.
Still waiting patiently in barrel is the 2011 Shiraz.

8 May - 2013 Eden Valley Vintage Report
The Leader newspaper (local news of the Barossa Valley)

The 2013 vintage will be remembered as the driest, earliest and quickest vintage in memory. The 2012/13 growing season was extremely variable in all aspects, with 2012 rainfall in the Barossa Valley the fifth driest on record [& even less so at Keyneton and the Eden Valley wine region].

The flowering period was particularly volatile, with a number of violent lightning storms damaging the emerging inflorescences. This, combined with the dry conditions which continued into December and January, led to poor fruit set in most varieties.

A heat spell of temperatures over 33 degrees from 12-18 February caused many vineyards to lose more of their potential yield, and baumes jumped dramatically, [prompting harvest to begin] in mid-February with Riesling and other white varieties.

Nine days above 30 degrees in early March (the third longest run ever of above 30 degree-days in March), meant that much of the Eden Valley Riesling and Shiraz ripened early and was picked in the first two weeks of March.

Yields were generally below average, but quality looks strong. Riesling harvested early retained both natural acidity and great flavours, while Shiraz is probably the stand-out red variety from the region.

Quoted [with edits] from 2013 Barossa Vintage Report prepared by Barossa Viticulture Technical Group chairman, Nigel Blieschke, & Yalumba Wine Company Chief Winemaker, Louisa Rose.

Vineyard & Harvest
The Mataro, Grenache and Alicante component of this wine, are sourced from a small block on the Northern side of Eden Valley near the township of Keyneton. The vineyard itself is rather unusual with a range of rich red earth and more shallow friable dirt interspersed with grey brown podzolic soil. Planted on the contour and taking advantage of these mixed patches of soil - each row is a smorgasboard of cultivars. Some rows are solely Mataro, others start with Grenache and finish with Alicante. For the unseasoned picker it can be a challenge, but for old hands, it's a joy to be in this quirky vineyard.

Vinification
The grapes are all hand-picked into 350kg bins, keeping each variety separate. Each batch is then treated as an individual wine from the outset. Crushed, and left to ferment for 8 - 10 days with morning and evening pump-overs to extract both colour, flavour and to aerate the wine. Gently basket pressed then matured in a combination of old and new French hogheads for 18 months. The base wine is finally blended and returned to barrel for a few more months, until bottling.

Winemaker's Comments
This gem of a vineyard, although fairly young by the districts standards (10+ years) continues to amaze us with its ability to produce really interesting & fascinating fruit. Working closely with the grower [Bill Evans] over the past few seasons, has allowed us to have input into growing & pruning techniques to further realise the potential of this eclectic vineyard.

The 2010 vintage was a stunner and particularly remarkable for excellent quality reds - an exciting prospect as these wines age. A blend of Mataro (40%), Grenache (30%) Alicante (20%) and Shiraz (10%) has created an earthy spiciness with layers of ripe red berry fruits, particularly Morello cherries and hints of cedar and oriental spices.