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A look-back at Vintage 2025 in the Yarra Valley. With words from Rod Harrison (Chief Viticulturist) and Brendan Hawker (Chief Winemaker).
With higher-than-normal rainfall over the previous seasons, vine canopies were looking incredible leading into the harvest season. Our winter pruning was a breeze, with perfect pruning conditions across our five vineyard sites.
Vintage 2025 was off to an early start thanks to a warm, dry spring and summer. “It was far warmer than the prior seasons. We quickly realised we were going to need a bulletproof program,” says Rod. Our dedicated vineyard team worked tirelessly around the clock, with a close eye on irrigation and water storage. By mid-Jan, we’d began netting our blocks as required, given a small amount of bird pressure. Before we knew it, we were picking.
Our first Yarra Valley grapes made their way into the winery on February 7, and within just two weeks we had processed half our total crush. By the end of the month, all of our chardonnay and pinot noir grapes were safely in the winery. Quite the pace!
“It didn’t let up—we were doing split shifts to get the fruit into the winery. I can’t express my gratitude toward the winery and vineyard team enough. They did a phenomenal job. I don’t think I have experienced a vintage quite like this one—it was a whirlwind,” reflects Rod.
Despite the compressed harvest window, the wines are showing great promise.
Brendan remarks, “Our pinot noirs are already impressing with stunning depth of colour, beautifully ripe tannins and delicate nuance in perfume and flavour—all framed through a slightly riper lens. The chardonnays, too, are showing excellent character. Expect a little more body than the last two vintages, with elegancy, texture and bright acidity maintained.”
The shift to cooler weather following mid-March rains, means our shiraz and cabernets are looking fantastic as well. The change in conditions slowed sugar accumulation, allowing these later-ripening varieties time to flavour and develop their characteristic tannin profile. An ideal finish to the season. For a final pick, Rod and Brendan gathered the team for a small, slow-paced handpick of nebbiolo at our Muirs property.
As for now, Brendan notes “We still have a small amount of cabernet and nebbiolo on skins, but most of the wines have now been tucked away for their winter slumber. We’ve also just farewelled our fantastic cosmopolitan vintage crew—a vibrant group of young winemakers from Italy, Argentina, Chile, Spain, the USA and Australia.”
With vintage wrapped, our viticulture and winemaking crew now get to enjoy a rare luxury in our region—Easter holidays! A well-deserved break for our talented and hardworking team who can now spend quality time with their families. We look forward to bringing you our wines from Vintage 2025.
