Moss Wood 2024 Chardonnay

Vintage Notes

The 2023/24 growing season transported us back to the mid-nineties, recalling vintages like 1995 that remain etched in Margaret River’s history as benchmarks of quality. Warm, dry conditions defined the year, making 2024 the warmest season since 2007 and a marked contrast to the milder, slower years of 2017, 2019 and 2021.

For the dry-farmed vines at Moss Wood, seasons like this highlight their resilience. With deep root systems developed over many decades, they were able to draw on soil moisture reserves and carry the crop through in healthy condition, free of disease and with no compromise in quality. While the lack of rainfall and warm season may have been a new experience for some in Margaret River, for others it felt familiar, with the expectation that such conditions would deliver rewards at harvest.

Rainfall played its part in shaping the season. The calendar year 2023 brought 880mm, around 13% below average. On its own this was not especially concerning, but the timing was notable. From flowering at the end of October through to harvest, only 10mm was recorded, making for a distinctly dry finish. This limited water availability contributed to smaller bunch weights and, ultimately, a lighter crop, despite otherwise healthy vine growth.

Flowering began on 13th October and conditions were generally excellent, with just 10.8mm of rain across the five-week period and seven cold nights below 8°C, the lowest being 2.3°C. That morning of 28th October provided the first real test for our newly installed frost fan, as the temperature at our vineyard weather station dropped to 2.3°C. The cold air settled in the lower-lying Old Block of Chardonnay, but the fan successfully circulated the air and prevented the kind of severe frost damage we have endured in past seasons. A special mention goes to Tristan Mugford, who was up into the early hours watching over the fan and making sure the air was being properly distributed - a long night that proved worthwhile, as we believe the fan paid for itself on that occasion alone. Fruit set was good, and as the warm, dry conditions took hold, ripening accelerated. Chardonnay completed its cycle in just 101 days from flowering to harvest – 17 days fewer than the long-term average of 118. The season’s warmth was clear in the numbers. The average temperature for the Chardonnay blocks was 20.27°C, somewhat above the long-term figure of 19.93°C. The vines enjoyed long hours in their optimum range of 18–28°C, with additional heat above 33°C ensuring full flavour ripeness was achieved in good time. Harvest came on 4th February, a full 25 days earlier than the long-term median of 1st March, and ripeness was exactly on the long-term average at 13.1° Baume.

Yields were well down, finishing at 4.09 tonnes per hectare, some 38% below the long-term average of 6.64 t/ha. While the reduced rainfall and smaller bunch weights were the main drivers of this shortfall, the result was pristine fruit with concentrated flavours and excellent balance.

Overall, the season confirmed once again that warm, dry conditions in Margaret River can produce Chardonnay of remarkable intensity and structure. We fully expect 2024 to sit proudly alongside the great vintages of the past four decades.