Winter was quite dry, with sporadic light showers that didn’t penetrate the soil very deeply. This impacted budburst but was managed with some irrigation. During spring there was quite a strong wind event around the time of flowering, which upset some of the growth, especially in Shiraz. Summer was hot, with an extreme heat wave and a record high temperature of 46.6C, which burnt some varieties like Petit Verdot. Most other varies managed to escape unscathed, which was surprising. Yields were down on most varieties. The quality, however, was excellent, exhibiting very varietal characteristics. Ferments had to be taken off a little earlier with higher sugar levels because of these strong tannins.

It is rumoured that the inventor of the Stump Jump plough, which enabled a ploughshare to jump over tree roots, had poor eyesight and required regular tests to ensure he could still operate machinery. The design of this label is inspired by an optometrist’s eyechart and serves as a makeshift sobriety test. If you can hold the bottle at arm’s length and still read the front label, you can enjoy another glass.

The grapes used in this wine underwent gentle crushing, temperature controlled fermentation and basket pressing prior to bottling.

Winter was quite dry, with sporadic light showers that didn’t penetrate the soil very deeply. This impacted budburst but was managed with some irrigation. During spring there was quite a strong wind event around the time of flowering, which upset some of the growth, especially in Shiraz. Summer was hot, with an extreme heat wave and a record high temperature of 46.6C, which burnt some varieties like Petit Verdot. Most other varies managed to escape unscathed, which was surprising. Yields were down on most varieties. The quality, however, was excellent, exhibiting very varietal characteristics. Ferments had to be taken off a little earlier with higher sugar levels because of these strong tannins.