An early and mild spring, hot summer days and a long lingering autumn provided perfect conditions for flavour development and ripening in Sauvignon Blanc and Semillon. Cool nights resulted in the retention of good natural acidity.

A warm spring brought early budburst and flowering. The La Niña summer gave us balmy days but coolish nights, encouraging perfect ripening with the retention of good natural acidity. Harvest was delayed until late April to allow the development of a small amount of botrytis or noble rot to develop...

Warm weather in early spring resulted in leaves on the vines bursting earlier than usual, which ultimately lead to a longer growing and ripening season, which had an important influence on the eventual wine. The summer was hot, but the nights cool. Combined with a long, lingering autumn this produced perfect conditions for ripening grapes, while retaining good acidity...

The season which produced the 1999 vintage was ideal for Riesling. Warm spring temperatures lead to early bud burst and flowering. The summer was hot, but the nights remained relatively cool, promoting berry development and maturation, while retaining good acidity. A long, lingering autumn completed the ripening...

A mild spring led to the vines bursting into leaf early. The summer days were hot but the nights tended to be cool, leading to a large diurnal temperature variation. This produced excellent ripening while retaining good colour and natural acidity.

A mild spring led to the vines bursting into leaf early. The summer days were hot but the nights tended to be cool, leading to a large diurnal temperature variation...

A mild spring led to the vines bursting into leaf early. The summer days were hot but the nights tended to be cool, leading to a large diurnal temperature variation. This produced excellent ripening while retaining good colour and natural acidity.

Finale is only made in special years and 1999 was one of these. The summer was predicted to be a La Niña weather pattern, but the cool weather did not eventuate. Instead, the growing season was extremely warm and resulted in the chardonnay ripening perfectly.