Warm and dry conditions prevailed during spring and early summer so that we became concerned the vines might be affected by drought.  Luckily we had a brief torrential downpour in February which set the dry streams gurgling merrily and replenished the groundwater reserves.  The rest of the summer was excellent.  Although we had humid conditions in late autumn we had earlier removed some leaves from the fruiting zone to allow good ventilation so the crop ripened beautifully and remained perfectly healthy.

The 2006 growing season was longer than usual as mild spring weather resulted in early bud-burst; however this was followed by cool nights which prevented excessively rapid growth.  There was good accumulation of summer heat and a long, dry autumn.  Harvest occurred late in April, a little earlier than normal to retain elegance.

Cool weather over late spring and early summer affected the pollination of the grape flowers and led to a marked reduction in the amount of fruit setting in our block of Mendoza Chardonnay, a clone which, even at the best of times, has only low crops...