2019 was a moderately warm and dry vintage, close to 2016 in terms of average rainfall during the growing season. Good rainfall in December brought welcome relief but did interfere with flowering and fruit set in the Sauvignon Blanc, reducing yields. Temperatures post véraison in February and March were on average for the region, perfect for the varieties grown in the Crayères Vineyard.
The Crayères vineyard is located at the top of a north-south limestone ridge in Wrattonbully, one of Australia’s most exciting regions. This vineyard has been baptised the Crayères Vineyard after the chalk cellars in Xavier’s region of birth in Champagne, France because of the natural limestone caves found underneath the vineyard. The clay rich Terra Rossa top-soil, characteristic of the area, promotes nutrient uptake while the underlying limestone is a reserve of moisture for the vines. The Sauvignon Blanc was planted on rootstocks in 2004 using the F4V6 and H5V10 “Australian” clones on 101-14 rootstocks, at a relatively high density for the area (4,444 vines per hectare with 1.5m wide rows), which means more km2 of canopy per hectare, and better fruit exposure. The fruiting wire is only 50cm above ground which provides extra ripeness for the vines in this cool climate region. The fruit from the western part of the vineyard is retained for our Crayères Vineyard Sauvignon Blanc.
