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Private Client Price List, 2009.

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Whisson Lake: Vintage History,1985-

Planted in 1985, the Whisson Lake Vineyard will in 2010 be celebrating its 25^th anniversary. Over the years the wine has been made by a variety of Australia’s greatest artisans – Jeff Grosset, Roman Bratasiuk, and Dave Powell among them – yet the characteristics of the vineyard have always dominated the human contribution. With its altitude and east-facing aspect, Pinot Noir from the Whisson Lake Vineyard has consistently given wine with enduring structure that can be enjoyed over a decade and more after harvest. But while structure is the golden thread that runs through all vintages of Whisson Lake, the fluctuations of the seasons have made the characteristics of each new vintage a unique personality to anticipate. Here is a brief outline of the last 20 years of winegrowing at Whisson Lake.

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1989: A warm and very dry growing season gave way to a mild and dry vintage. The vineyard’s first crop to be vinified already showed hints of what the Whisson Lake Vineyard would provide over the following two decades with signature acidity and tannin structure.

1990: Vigorous young vines coupled with ideal weather during flowering led to a bumper crop with high acidity and beetroot hue. The last surviving bottles of this wine were drunk in 2009 and the colour had not even started to brown. Like a 19-year-old and deeply coloured rosé still with its original freshness!

1991: Another dry and hot season (like 1990) with a mild vintage. This was the first year where the vines were beginning to settle down after the end of their adolescence. The wine showed good concentration and a first whiff of genuine Pinot perfume from the Whisson Lake Vineyard.

1992: After a run of hot years, 1992 was the mild season that delivered Whisson Lake’s first mature crop with feminine aromatics and stolid structure marking the wine. It was the year that made clear the intelligence of planting the Whisson Lake site entirely to Pinot Noir.

1993:  A second cool year on the trot with a remarkably mild summer and dry vintage. The benign weather allowed the Pinot Noir to exhibit its vivacious and dizzying perfume. The wine was lighter and had great poise. Still drinking well in 2009 and admired by visiting UK wine writer Andrew Jefford on his recent visit to the vineyard.

1994: The cool run continued as the Whisson Lake vines began their transition to early adulthood. A noticeable increase in colour, aroma, structural intensity and concentration occurred and the masculine power of the vineyard was now seen clearly. A strident and very long-living wine.

1995: Another wet and cool year and a late harvest to suit. Despite widespread disease in other vineyards, Whisson Lake remained healthy and an elegant wine was the result.

1996: With feverish bouts of heat and cold the extremes of the 1996 growing season led to a wine that had all aspects in aces: deep colour, heavy and intoxicating scents, and a structure with attack, grip and length. Still going strong and available to buy, $65 per bottle.

1997: The summer of ’97 was hot and dry before giving way to a characteristically mild period in the Piccadilly Valley during the weeks leading up to harvest. A lighter wine with good acid but less assertive tannins was the result of the high summer temperatures. $55.

1998: A dry but cool year gave a small crop of small bunches and berries which consequently ripened rapidly and to an extreme degree. The wine remains to this day rich and packed with fruit while the palate is big and round. $60.

1999: A warm and humid year gave a distinctly supple quality to the palate of this wine. The ’99, which was made by Dave Powell of Torbreck fame, is still a remarkably fresh wine for a drink that celebrated its 10^th birthday in 2009. Primary fruit mingle with the complex forest floor characters that are so sought for by Pinot-lovers. But the palate is exquisite with definition, lightness and a refreshing character that makes this a really superb drink. A classic vintage where Pinot Noir’s (temperamental) potential to give wines of ineffable balance and drinkability was brought to fruition. $60.

2000: While the world celebrated the Sydney Olympic Games, the Whisson Lake Vineyard rang in the Millennium with a fine crop with racy acidity and a wildly complex nose. Lighter in colour but a firm cellaring favourite. $50.

2001: The ’01 season was topped and tailed with mild temperatures but the central period was hot throughout. The wine is seductive, darkly coloured and still heavily perfumed with fresh Pinot Noir scents of morello cherries. Notes of chocolate and caramel reflect the year’s warmth while the palate is big but not aggressive. Pinot Noir “Gaz” 2001, $40.

2002: From the heat of ‘01 to the coolest year since records began, 2002 was destined for greatness. Even before fermentation began the fruit released an exceptional degree of colour. When you open a bottle of this wine, the first impression is of jammy fruit but as successive waves of exotic ripeness evaporate off deeper layers of a far more savoury character are revealed. If not all drunk in the first hour (!) each bottle sees a transition to a wine that is more akin to Chianti than Burgundy with savoury power and porcini richness. $45.

2003: A trying year that was effectively blocked by excessive heat. The fruit was not mature and no wine was released.

2004: Like 1996, the ’04 season had many peaks and troughs. Also like the 1996, the wine from this year was of immense proportions with each trait of this wine having been created by a corresponding peak or trough in the growing season’s temperature profile. Delicious on last tasting in 2009 but none remaining.

2005: A classic vintage for Whisson Lake Vineyard and a great year for the Adelaide Hills as a whole. Temperate throughout but nothing in excess, 2005 gave a “White Label” that is fondly remembered by all who got to taste it. Intense fruit but with no hint of excessive ripening, a round and warm palate with the softest possible tannins. Pinot Noir “Gaz” 2005, $30.

2006: A cold and wet spring was followed up with a warm summer where careful shoot removal and other canopy-controlling techniques were necessary to prevent the onset of mildew. A lighter wine than ‘05 with a fine elegant palate and a stunning nose of classic Pinot perfume and exotic complexity. Pinot Noir “Gaz” 2006, $25.

2007: A hot summer and a cold vintage gave a wine that will develop happily in the cellar for the next ten years and more. Some of the lightest alcohol we have seen in Whisson Lake with some parcels picked at under 12%. But the fruit was deeply ripe notwithstanding the light sugars and the palate is tightly coiled. A nose of sheer elegance and truly Burgundian finesse. $30.

2008: A year with a sting in its tail! 2008 was very gently temperate throughout until a heatwave arrived in early-March to propel the fruit into a new orbit of ripeness. The ‘08s are almost untypically exotic on the nose with bright kirsch fruit, chocolate and coconut notes. But the palate is unmistakably Whisson Lake with fine tannins and great length. Black Label 2008, $20.

2009: Dry and cool to begin and then with a 10-day burst of heat that started on Australia Day – just before veraison thus sparing our fruit any negative consequences (if the heat had come after veraison there would have been a very different story to our year). The ripening period that followed could not have been more perfect with consistently comfortable warmth by day and coolness by night leading to statuesque ripeness but without any degradation of the fruit. Halucinogenic colour, aromatic intensity, and a great cellaring potential. Now in bottle (20.4.10).

2010: Our 25^th anniversary year has got off to a flying start with a cold and wet winter giving way suddenly to a truly hot spring. The most successful flowering since 1990 and almost perfect canopy development – so far.

Ordering wine:

Wine can be ordered in any of four ways.

Email: tom.munro@whissonlake.com  Just let us know what you would like.

Telephone: Please contact Cellar Manager Tom Munro on 0421 739 789.