Adelaide Hills – 2020
The 2020 vintage will be remembered for excellent quality wines from the Adelaide Hills, except for fire affected areas. Some reduction of yield was caused by misty rain and very cold conditions at flowering. Bunch size was normal, although with fewer berries having set, it resulted in more open clusters and highly variable crop levels. Significant heatwaves from mid-December to the end of January reduced shoot growth and berry size, however higher than average rainfall at the end of January reduced the stress just before veraison, followed by a cool ripening period in February. The Adelaide Hills bushfire ignited near Cudlee Creek on a ‘Catastrophic Fire Day’ on 20 December 2019 and burned a swath of country including wine growing areas of Lenswood, Lobethal and Mount Torrens, destroying around 30% of Adelaide Hills vineyards. The Henschke Lenswood Vineyard was totally decimated. No Henschke Lenswood wines were made from the 2020 vintage due to the bushfires. The 2020 pinot gris from Littlehampton was picked in late February and the resulting wine is finely structured, balanced and fragrant.