2006-2007 Two Opposing Seasons

We seem to mention this quite often, but in 2006, everything switched back the other way when Mother Nature decided cold was the order of the day. Spring 2005 was very cool indeed and flowering was extremely late, almost a month later than 2004. For Keith, it was the coolest season he had seen and sent him to the Bureau of Meteorology to try and confirm exactly how cold it was.  Research of their records revealed it to be the coolest since Moss Wood was planted in 1969. We were sailing into uncharted territory.

With the relatively recent experience of a similar season in 2002, we had some clues as to how we should manage the vineyard. Apart from being fastidious with our fungicide program to keep botrytis under control in near-perfect conditions for its growth, we also decided to remove all the leaves around the bunches, so they received maximum sunlight and higher temperatures.  Our intention was to ensure that we did all we could to avoid the greener fruit notes seen in the 2002 vintage. It was a time consuming and expensive process because it had to be done by hand but in the end, was worth the effort. Despite being cooler than 2002, at 19.4°C compared with 19.6°C, it has much riper fruit aromas and tannins. The 2006 also benefited from a more sympathetic autumn.

This vintage led to some vigorous, nay rancorous, debate because the quality was written off by many and there was much criticism levelled at the Margaret River region. This irritated Keith no end, particularly some ill-informed comments that the wines wouldn’t age. Sure, there was no doubt the 2006’s lacked the sheer majesty of recent wines like 2005 or 2001 but so many seemed to forget, or never knew, that 1982, mentioned previously as perhaps the region’s most famous year, was very similar and those wines aged beautifully.  For the record, the 2006 Moss Wood Cabernet Sauvignon has developed as its siblings have, and at 19 years old, it is still well short of full maturity and will continue to evolve for at least two more decades. We’ll take that as a win.

Upon reflection, this period reads like something of a wild ride because we went from the cold of 2006 to our earliest vintage on record in 2007.  Warm and dry was definitely the theme, starting in the spring and continuing through the summer.  Flowering was early, on 15th November and good conditions prevailed, so crops were excellent. Cabernet Sauvignon charged through to full maturity in 115 days on 6th March, a week earlier than 1983. The style is very easy to describe – ripe, soft and friendly, similar in style to 1976 and 2000 but less tannic than 1983 and 1995. The classic “yummy” Moss Wood but it shouldn’t be underestimated. At 18 years of age, it retains a youthful primary aroma and is aging well. It will need at least another decade to display its full bottle bouquet.