2024 Charteris Hunter Valley Chardonnay

The contrast between the 22/23 and 23/24 growing seasons could not have been greater, 2023 delivering a dry winter for the ages, 90mm of rain from the 1st of May until the 31st October ensured La Nina was well and truly behind us. That said, things can change, but that was not the story of the 2023/2024 growing season. The heavens held onto any precipitation they had, and with warm winter minimums we saw a very early, August budburst, and that means only one thing, an early harvest. Needless to say, vineyard management was about doing the basic things right and hoping the rains would come, offering subtle relief from the dry. Fortunately, deep down the previous 3 season’s moisture ensured good vineyards were not found wanting when summer really warmed up. Harvest arrived with a bang and there was no time for gaps in picking with Chardonnay and Semillon back to back followed closely by Shiraz, everything was in the winery by the first week in February and there was not much of it. The effect of the prolonged dry spell after 3 very wet and generous seasons was laid out clearly for all to see in the miniscule yields our vines provided us. “Half” was the most common expression heard at grape receival pads around the Valley, as ever decreasing tonnages were entered into winery weigh books. And the wash up at the end of harvest was exactly that, half of what was expected. As we have all heard before, good things can come in small packages and our vines delivered flavour with abundance. The Semillon wines from this harvest will be interesting to watch evolve, they have tension but weight, depth yet delicacy. Perhaps we need to look to the 2005s and 2007s to get a glimpse of what the future holds for these unique expressions of what the Hunter does with ease. Chardonnay and Shiraz are a little hard to peg and we will only know with time but, the Chardonnays are complex and have a little more funk than the 2023 wines, while the Shiraz is dense and compact with tannin power. These wines will take some time to unwind.