Vintage 2024 had a lot in store for Oliver’s Taranga…
After a lovely and fairly mild spring, we headed into the wettest December in 130 years including some spectacular lightning storms. So much for the BoM telling us that we were heading back into a very hot and dry spell. We had to keep the mowing and weeding up as the mid-rows and under-vine were jungles! We didn’t turn the irrigation on until much, much later in the season. The vines were very happy with this lovely rainfall, setting a solid crop and matching it with plenty of vegetative growth. Don remarked that he has never seen such a year in his living memory.
The rain dried up in Feb and we had our first pick of 24 – white frontignac for Moscato – on the 6th Feb, followed by Fiano for our Hunt for Mrs Oliver Sparkling and Mencia for the Chica Rose. Things spiced up a bit in March as we had a heatwave over the Adelaide Cup long weekend – we were picking what felt like 24/7! We also took ownership of the winery that we have been working out off for a number of years, adding another 12 incredible staff members to our team. They worked very hard, but the results are all worth it.
All varieties have performed really well this year, and we had exceptional crops of Grenache in particular. The exciting first harvest of a new variety, Falanghina (fah- lahn-gee-nah), a white variety originally from the same region as our favourite Fiano in Campania, Italy. This was especially fun and we look forward to seeing the wine evolve.
We were also thrilled to have our good friend Valtteri Bottas (Formula 1 driver, massive McLaren Vale Shiraz fan and partner in our new wine brand, IHANA) visit us for a few days of harvest. Our tractor doesn’t quite cut the same speeds as Valtteri’s usual drive, but it was great to have him helping out with our pick!
Can’t wait to share the 2024 wines with you all soon.
Cheers, Corrina
