Vintage commenced early this year with Verdelho coming off in the second week of March and Chardonnay following on in the third week. The majority of the Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc decided to reach optimum baume in the fourth week with Semillon hot on its heels, pushing processing capacity to the limit.

Yield was generally in line with forecasts. Higher variance was generally experienced in young vines. Semillon crops were not as high as 1999 and generally Chardonnay crops were slightly higher. Sauvignon Blanc yields were up slightly on 1999. Cabernet Sauvignon yields were down at least 20% on some sites compared to 1999, but quality is up. Merlot yields were slightly down on last year, whereas Shiraz yields were slightly up on last year.

January and February were on the whole fairly mild with the occasional burst of heat and rain. Cyclonic activity in the north west provided some nervous moments in early March with harvest of the whites in full swing. Falls of rain varied from 8mm to 35mm across the region causing a lot of rescheduling, but no great harm. Late March has seen equal portions of cloudy cool weather with the threat of rain, and sunny days in the high twenties with cold nights. Autumn so far looks similar to last year's Indian Summer.

Compared to 1999, the whites in general appear to have more flavour with some individual parcels from all varieties and from a broad spectrum of properties that exhibit great varietal definition and persistence of flavour.

Both Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot on the whole have been excellent and often ripening before Shiraz this vintage. Whether the reds from this vintage prove to be as good as 1999 remains to be seen. But generally a very good vintage.

Autumn (March, April, May) 1999

As predicted in our Summer edition, this looks like it will turn out to be an excellent Margaret River vintage for most varieties. Although we still have a few weeks to go before all the red grapes come in, our fingers are crossed.

Due to the cooler ripening season the emphasis seems to be more on quality than quantity. For example, a number of wineries reported their Pinot crop to be considerably down on previous years, but the quality of fruit to be outstanding.

The picking of the classic red varieties was something of a protracted affair with the cooler conditions pushing the harvest back into late March and early April. Nevertheless robust character is intact and the general quality of fruit was very good indeed, with deep intensity across the region.

Dry sunny days in early December were ideal for the development of the burgeoning clusters. Through January and February there were no really hot spells and the fruit matured slowly, enhancing delightful characters in both the red and white grapes.

Some rain fell in late February and the second half of March, however unlike the previous two vintages it had negligible effect. La Nina worked her destructive alchemy in the state's north with a series of cyclones, however the resultant rain-bearing depressions missed our region.

The days remained warm, dry and sunny - a good prelude to the harvest. By late-March the general atmosphere in the vineyards and wineries was one of smug content - so it looks like the last vintage of the millennium will be up there among the best. And so it should be.

Summer (December, January February) 1999

At the time of writing the 1999 vintage looked to be shaping up very well indeed. Following a rather cold winter in the region, the Spring was generally dry and clement. Bud burst took place pretty much on time for each variety.

The maritime climate, which is of assistance to the vines most of the year, can be far from it September to November, when tender young growth and buds can be damaged by strong wind, rain and hail.

As we have mentioned elsewhere in the newsletter, October brought news of the dreaded downy mildew in the Swan Valley, some 320 miles north of Margaret River. However, thorough checks found no sign of the blight here.

The first days of summer were wet, but the vines were very much on their way by that time anyway. Dry sunny days in early December were ideal for the development of the burgeoning clusters.

If such conditions were to continue through to vintage, we could be in for a real doosie of a in '99. However, the past two vintages have been plagued with unwanted - not to mention, unusual - rains.

And now that we're in the middle of an El Nina (Nino's sister) cycle, who knows what to expect.

The weather gurus are predicting a record number of cyclones in the north, which would mean hot and humid late summer days here is the South West. We're hoping they will remain warm, dry and sunny . That would make for a perfect Margaret River vintage to close the millennium.

Autumn (March, April, May) 1998 - An Interesting Vintage

This is being written at the tail end of the 1998 vintage and something quite wonderful has happened. The rain has stopped!

Now hold on, before you start muttering your "Oh, dears", bear in mind that things weren't too bad. Even though there were two downpours during the picking season (the second being the least welcome), most of the whites were already off the vine and in excellent condition.

And those with red still on, kept it there for a good burst of sunshine after the deluge.

Our prediction is for delicate, yet gently complex rouge as a result, dare we say slightly French in its make up. The rain caused some swelling and splitting of grapes, however the pickers worked well to limit dilution.

The silvereyes and 28s (grape-addicted local birds) also had an absolute field day in some parts. Yet despite the biblical pestilence, this year's vintage offers an interesting experiment for Margaret River. Early varieties produced superb fruit. Rest assured, there's going to be some fine whites produced from this rather odd vintage.

Summer (December, January, February) 1997/1998

As of early January, conditions looked well on course for an exciting vintage throughout the Margaret River region.

Fruit set has been robust up and down the Cape and tonnage should be average or slightly above average in 1998. The older, lower-yielding vines have so far enjoyed ideal conditions for rich, flavoursome grapes.

Some seasonal rains in late October and November helped fuel an healthy early growing season, with a slightly cooler than average spring and early summer conditions adding to prolific vegetative growth in many vineyards.

The weather started to heat up noticeably coming into Christmas, which is encouraging for the development of intense fruit flavour characteristics for which the region is famous. Concerns over the strong westerly winds and hail that hit the region in October seem to have been unfounded, with minimal losses being recorded in the early-budding white varieties.