Extremely windy conditions to mid-February overlapped with the high temperatures and extreme drought experienced during most of the season. This created very difficult growing conditions for the vines, giving rise to light canopies and greatly reduced berry sizes. Lowered juice yields, low pHs and higher phenolics were observed in both red and white varieties. As a consequence, most 98 wines show rich colours and bright varietal flavours with taut structure. They can be expected to be be both slow to unfold and potentially long-lived. |
