Sirromet’s 2019 Vintage Delivers Exceptional Fruit Despite Challenging Conditions
FRIDAY 29th March 2019
Notably the driest season on record, Sirromet’s 20th vintage harvest comes to an end this week with the final intake of fruit coming in from their Granite Belt Vineyards. Despite the conditions, the fruit quality is exceptional, with each varietal exhibiting good colour, acidity, flavours and regional characteristics.
Water was the key focal point this vintage with very limited supply across the Granite Belt region. Despite Sirromet’s own natural water sources on its vineyards, supply was stretched by far more than ever experienced, making effective irrigation absolutely essential. A pulse irrigation program was implemented to apply a small amount of water on the vines frequently and on a rotational basis to stretch supply as far as possible.
“We watered up to 16 hours a day in mini cycles, ensuring each drop of water was maximised for the best effect on our vines. We also implemented a fertilizer program for drought survival and fruit quality – it’s great to see it worked,” said Mike Hayes, Sirromet Director of Vineyard and Winery Operations.
“The dry weather meant low disease and allowed the fruit to ripen delivering dense varietal flavours. Standouts were the Shiraz and the Chardonnay,” said Adam Chapman, Sirromet Chief Winemaker.
Chardonnay fruit from Sirromet’s Saint Jude’s vineyard was first in a few weeks earlier than planned due to the dry conditions, but was clean and ripe with intense varietal characters of green apple, grapefruit zest, touch of calcium, mineral notes and good spinal acidity. Total fruit intake for 2019 was approximately 380 tonnes across 10 different varietals.
“YAN (Yeast Assimilable Nitrogen) analysis was exceptional, affirming the high fruit quality across the board,” said Mike Hayes, Sirromet Director of Vineyard and Winery Operations.
The 2019 vintage marks winemaker Adam Chapman’s 20th vintage at Sirromet and Mike Hayes 40th year of winemaking. Together they share a passion for wine education, winemaking and the pursuit of excellence in their fields, and are working together to deliver outstanding Granite Belt wines to be recognised on the world-stage.
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Fruit was harvested and transported by refrigerated trucks in a 220km drive to the winery’s state-of-the-art production facility at Mount Cotton.
Varieties harvested from Sirromet’s three vineyards located in Ballandean, within the Granite Belt wine region, as well vineyard at Mount Cotton include;
SEVEN SCENES, BALLANDEAN (52-ha): Chardonnay, Shiraz, Pinot Noir, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Petit Verdot
ST JUDE’S, BALLANDEAN (25-ha): Pinot Gris, Viognier, Chardonnay, Verdelho, Nebbiolo, Shiraz, Cabernet Sauvignon
NIGHT SKY, BALLANDEAN (23-ha): Chardonnay, Verdelho, Pinot Gris, Viognier
MOUNT COTTON VINEYARD: Moscato Giuliano, Chambourcin
Sirromet has 97 wine tanks on-site with a total capacity of 2.16 million litres. The largest tanks hold 120,000 litres each.
Sirromet has won a total of 910 international and national wine awards since opening in 2000. The winery is owned and was founded by Gold Coast businessman Terry Morris.
Sirromet's state-of-the-art winery at Mount Cotton includes production, bottling, and packaging facilities, marketing and administration, Cellar Door, Restaurant Lurleen's, on-site glamping accommodation ‘Sanctuary by Sirromet’ and facilities for Corporate Functions and Weddings.
