Extremely heavy winter rainfall and ferocious spring winds and hail set up one of the most challenging vintages we have ever experienced at Lenswood. Flowering was late, occurring in December rather than November, in rare calm and sunny weather which set us up for good yields. The conditions post-Christmas were characterised by elevated evening temperatures, heavy rain every four days, foggy mornings and low day time temperatures. Harvest started in March; three weeks later than usual. By Easter, all Adelaide Hills whites and our pinot noir were safely in the winery, and in excellent condition despite 760mm falling during the growing season. This was a vintage saved in the vineyard by the outstanding work of the Adelaide Hills viticultural team under extremely trying conditions, with results that exceeded expectations.

At 550m, the Lenswood vineyards offer not only magnificent views over the traditional vine country but also higher rainfall and humidity at the right time of the year, cooler temperatures to retain high natural acidity, and still enough sunshine to fully ripen the grapes.