The end of a vintage brings relief for all those that work in vineyards and wineries since the harvest is the final expression of another year’s work. Still the satisfaction these days is not like medieval times. Then the vintage was a year’s worth of toil, and if it failed, perhaps by late rain, frost or the spread of mildew, village life was suddenly far from rosy.
A good harvest brought relief and exhilaration as expressed with the vintage festivals since the wine had an immediate value and could be offered in exchange for other necessities. These days it is best not to celebrate until the wine is sold and this may take many years.
All Barossa Valley vintages make good wine which can be sold and years back I saw one vintage as much like any other, at least that’s how I measured them in long tastings. There were exceptional vintages and 1955, 1976 and 1996 come to mind.
For the rest it was an even flow with a gentle up or down in flavour intensity. Reflecting on this experience I would prefer customers begin drinking this vintage sooner not later as the extraordinary aroma is its great joy and this will fade under secondary influences brought on by oxygen alteration.
