We've been busy in the vineyard and winery tinkering on Vintage 25'.
By Jan Taborsky
We can confidently call 2025 the best vintage of the past five years.
After the smoke-affected 2020, it was cold and rainy between 2021–2023, and then particularly warm and humid in 2024.
This year finally brought decent yields and a beautiful balance between flavour ripeness and acidity. Even though we still had more rain than we’d like, the timing of the precipitation and meticulous canopy management have helped keep disease pressure at bay.
A rare vintage with no losers
Everything from the sparkling through to the Tannat looks good or very good.
The whites show an excellent combination of ripe flavours, bright acidity, and rich textures. Hill of Dreams – made with no skin contact this year – looks especially strong at this early stage. As do Tempranillo Blanco and Manseng: all wines of texture and pulsing energy.
The reds show moderate bodies with a mix of freshness and firm tannin structure. The exception is Tannat, which is full-bodied, intensely flavoured and beautifully velvety.
New to the fold in 2025: Syrah
A new and highly anticipated wine also joins the red lineup this year: Syrah from newly planted rows of high-quality clones. Our second crack at Australia’s most prolific red variety looks very promising – mulberry and pepper, almost blood-and-iron notes. An excellent example of how well Syrah suits volcanic soils.
That’s 2025 in a nutshell. Here’s hoping 2026 follows the trend.
