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Posts with the label "margaret river estate"


Harvest Report: Voyager Estate - The Finals, April 2011

Harvest Report: Voyager Estate - The Finals, April 2011

Tuesday 12th April 2011
by Justerini & Brooks

The final instalment of Voyager Estate’s harvest report.

"Similar to last year - we had just finished tipping our last bin of Cabernet Sauvignon into the de-stemmer and the rain started to fall. The harvest which commenced on the 9th of Feb and concluded on the 6th of April will be remembered for the warm and humid February and the perfect March weather which finished the reds off beautifully.

It was a season where patience was rewarded, as it was important to wait for the Cabernet Sauvignon and give it some hang time to ensure the tannins were fully ripe. Those who waited will make outstanding wines, with great concentration and fine, ripe, silky tannins.
Harvest Report: Voyager Estate, March 2011

Harvest Report: Voyager Estate, March 2011

Friday 25th March 2011
by Justerini & Brooks

“This week has seen the completion of the Shiraz and Merlot fruit into the winery. The yields have been spot on our targets for these varieties at close to 2 tonnes per acre, and the fruit looks excellent with great colour and concentration.

The first picks of Cabernet Sauvignon have started to come in, and the early signs look very promising. The first Cabernet fruit we harvest is off a small block in the Wilyabrup sub region of Margaret River, which is located about 25 Kms north of our estate. It is slightly warmer and provides us with an exceptional batch of fruit we use in our Cabernet Sauvignon Merlot wine. The top fruit from this sub region is always characterised with lovely fresh Mulberry fruit and fine silky tannins whereas the fruit from our top Estate vineyard blocks displays dark cassis fruit with more structural tannins. The small portion of this Wilyabrup fruit adds some mid palate sweetness to the wine and is an important component of our style.
Harvest Report: Voyager Estate, Part five

Harvest Report: Voyager Estate, Part five

Tuesday 15th March 2011
by Justerini & Brooks

March 2011: Part five of Steve James’ Harvest Update as we follow the progress at Voyager Estate. The Shiraz is in, which leaves just Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Petit Verdot to be harvested...

"The warm tropical weather has finally subsided and we are now enjoying classic Margaret River autumn weather, comprising beautiful warm, sunny days with cool nights. Perfect conditions for finishing off the red grapes which we started harvesting on Tuesday 8th March. Most of the Shiraz has been harvested and is showing amazing depth of colour with great concentration of ripe fruit flavours and excellent tannin structure. Due to the kind weather conditions, we have been selectively harvesting small batches on most days, and will complete the Shiraz early next week.

The Merlot is nearly ready, and we expect to commence harvesting this early next week with the Cabernet Sauvignon not long after. Our final red grape harvested is Petit Verdot which we love to blend into our Cabernet Sauvignon Merlot for its violet like aromatics and structural contribution to the palate. The weather forecast for the next week or so is very good, so we will continue selective harvesting of small batches which enables us to harvest each small patch at optimum ripeness. The Chardonnay has nearly finished fermentation in barrel, and a tasting late last week showed our early excitement to be well justified. Hopefully the weather will hold out for another couple of weeks to give the Cabernet Sauvignon a bit more hang time to complete another outstanding vintage for the region.

Harvest Report: Voyager Estate, Part four

Harvest Report: Voyager Estate, Part four

Wednesday 2nd March 2011
by Justerini & Brooks

March 2011: Steve James making us feel as if we are walking along the vineyards with him, soaking in the sun and witnessing the last of the white grapes.

"It has been a busy week with all of our Sauvignon Blanc and Semillon harvested, which basically sees the end of the whites except for a small parcel of Viognier to be harvested with our early picks of Shiraz and co-fermented. The season has delivered excellent flavours for the Sauvignon Blanc Semillon blend with a very good palate weight and fruit intensity. The latter harvested batches of Semillon contribute a nice textural component to the wine.

Around 20% of the Semillon portion of this wine is being put to barrel for fermentation, with the aim of building more textural notes and complexity into the wine but without obvious wood character.
Harvest Report: Voyager Estate, Part three

Harvest Report: Voyager Estate, Part three

Wednesday 23rd February 2011
by Justerini & Brooks

February 2011: Steve James updates us with news from our benchmark award winning Margaret River Estate. Despite the cyclones on the horizon, things seem to be looking promising.

"Fairly hectic in the winery at the moment as we are in the middle of harvesting our Sauvignon Blanc with our first harvest of Semillon due tonight. The weather has been warm to hot averaging around 32 degrees Celsius during the day, with very mild evenings. Unusually for Margaret River the humidity has been high, with our weather being heavily influenced by the presence of tropical cyclones well to our north - thankfully!The Sauvignon Blanc fruit has been very impressive, with plenty of lovely tropical fruit flavours such as passion fruit, lychee and melon, whilst the Semillon component of the blend is showing the classic citrus flavours we look for with excellent weight and intensity.

The Chardonnay is fermenting beautifully in barrel, and the early signs of an exceptional wine look very encouraging indeed. Our use of new wood on Chardonnay is down to around 30%, as our vineyard is maturing and we are gaining more texture and complexity from the grapes. I expect we will complete the Semillon fruit by early next week, and spend some time walking the vine rows tasting the Shiraz which is also ripening quickly. Early tannin development on the reds looks fantastic, which will give us the luxury of harvesting the fruit with the flavour profiles we look for.
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