2018 began with an impressive 355mm of rain and snow in January, while February was also abundant with 162mm of rain to irrigate the soils. March followed with 41mm and April, with 27mm, was the icing on the cake; after the 15th of April, a surprise increase in temperature encouraged the vines to open. May & June were exceptional as 52mm and 32mm of rain fell during the blooming period, the vines loved the additional water and the harvest certainly looked promising. July was true to form with no water and temperatures increased to an average of 35 degrees Celsius. Then in August we had a 3-day heatwave with temperatures of 39 and 40 degrees.

Cinsault was harvested on the 4th of September and what a surprise… the grapes were dried with high sugar content. This is the first time we have experienced this from our Cinsault vineyards and showed us that nothing can be taken for granted; no grape can escape changing climatic conditions, each year is different and unique.