Monthly Report - July 2024
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Pruning underway…
A bit more delayed than even I anticipated with pruning starting mid-July with the Chardonnay tidied up and the Shiraz and Merlot commenced. I have a solid five weeks of work in front of me from this point at the end of July, with the fear being that we begin warming up in early September bringing on another rush of bud burst. At this stage I have a schedule to meet of 250-280 vines a day to keep everything on track to complete the job in early September, surely we will not have the apricity that restarts the vines early this year – they need their beauty sleep!
What is strange is how the region’s vineyards have not really cracked on with their pruning either – our next-door neighbours have not cut a cane by the end of July, and they do have three hectares of Chardonnay which most likely will be bud bursting in 4-5 weeks. Other vineyards around Margaret River also look very overgrown – little being done in the vines, and this can only bring a lot of pressure to bear as the weeks pass along. Here is hoping that staff are up to the crush of cutting required.
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The Office – July to September
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Reserve Reviews…
I did relent and forward our three Reserve wines into the most “renowned” wine critic Gary Walsh from the WineFront website. Withnail (as I refer to him), has been tasting and reviewing our wines for near on 15 years and has seen the whole repertoire go through his wine glasses and in a way he is the most attuned of any critic to our wines and style. So, without further ado here are the reviews and scores for the 2022 Reserves:
Blue Poles “Deux Écus” 2022 (Review Date - 23 July 2024): I had to get my Boomer Torch out to try and read the small grey writing on the charcoal label, and still it was a struggle. I think it says it’s the best two barrels of Merlot and one of Cabernet Franc. It says ‘sold out’ on the website, though I know plenty of TWF subscribers would have jumped on this prior to any review, which is as it should be (for some wines).
It’s a strong wine, and I don’t mean in alcohol, but rather in structure, in that it’s sinewy, firm in tannin and acidity, with a fair amount of high quality oak in tow. Blackberry, boysenberry, raspberry, tobacco and cedar, baking spice, with a flicker of mint and sweet grassiness, and dried flower perfume. It has concentration of fruit, pulls quite savoury with more of that tobacco, and black olive, offers a firm redcurrant crunch to acidity, firm gravelly and grainy tannin, nutmeg and iodine, and pulls long and fresh on the finish. Lots of crunch and energy, and intensity too. I want to say something poetic, like it runs on rails of steel, but there you have it. It’s an outstanding wine regardless. Score 95+
Blue Poles Reserve Merlot 2022 (Review Date - 23 July 2024): Some years I prefer the Reserve Merlot, and some the Cabernet Franc. Either way, a pretty good track record for these wines HERE (see image below).
Plum, raspberry, ginger and nutmeg, a little mint and tobacco. It’s medium-bodied, has the character of good Merlot with the black olive savoury stuff, crisp acidity, a light chew to grainy tannin, strawberry too, not quite the concentration and length of the Cabernet Franc from the same vintage, though it’s a lovely wine all the same. I like the saline and nutty character in the aftertaste. Excellent. A wine of verity and freshness. Score 93
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Blue Poles Reserve Cabernet Franc 2022 (Review Date - 23 July 2024): If you were to plant a vineyard from scratch in Australia, with a view to tilting at windmills, then you might well plant it to Cabernet Franc and Merlot.
Gee, this is good. It’s floral and perfumed, blueberry and raspberry, nutmeg and cinnamon, a coffee grounds earthiness, black tea, with a pleasingly varietal dried herb edge. I may have mentioned a few beverages here that are good to drink, but this wine is also very good to drink. It’s firm in tannin, grainy and a little sooty, savoury yet fruit sweet, a crisp raspberry attack to acidity, with a finish of excellent length and brightness. Outstanding. Score 95
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So, there you have it – some very good scores for some very good wines so well done to everyone who has got their selection safely tucked away for a rainy day (pretty much today as I am typing while having a squall knock against my window). We have managed to put some further Deux Écus and Reserve Cabernet Franc up on the website shop if anyone wishes to take up a few more or top up an order – we always keep some spare cases for breakages and fortunately the deliveries went pretty smoothly. A little bonus but be quick!
The World Keeps on Turning…
Which means the years keep on passing, and this year I managed to crack a one that ends with a zero. I am not a “party” fan (to say the least), so Marjory and I planned a few months back to spend a few days in Singapore – a place we know quite well. So, into Chinatown we went, had some dinners and lunches at Maxwell’s Hawker Centre, breakfasts at Ya Kun Kaya Toast, and a few nice meals and a few drams of whisky at La Maison du Whisky.
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Not very hard to determine our location from this photo…
After having a week out in the vines at around 12°C, it quickly became apparent we were not acclimatised to the humid warmth as we spent our days walking about, bouncing from airconditioned café to airconditioned bar (or vice versa). A nice way to cap off a decade – totally unprepared for the next, but hey, it is the journey as much as the destination that is the fun part I have always thought.
Winter walks in...
The one weather component that is critical for the southwest corner of WA is winter rainfall. It is the biggest driver of all the ecosystems in play from the forests to the beaches, without it the trees would perish, the grass would not grow over spring and the rivers will not clear the build up of debris and still water that ponds during summer. So, with a grateful heart we have seen a solid month of rainfall with the last day of the month seeing our dam overflow and our rain tank fill. Groundwater levels should now top up and keep the flora and fauna on an even keel as we look forward to the coming spring. Good to see some consistency in our world, if only for this brief window of time.
The numbers for this month and last year’s figures are provided below:
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July 2024:
Avg Maximum Temp 16.8°C
Daily Max recorded 19.9°C
Avg Minimum Temp 8.4°C
Daily Min recorded 1.8°C
Rainfall: 251.8mm
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The average maximum and minimum temperature averages were very similar to the values in 2023. Rainfall total for 2024 was high at >250mm for the month, which is not common for the region.
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July 2023:
Avg Maximum Temp 16.0°C
Daily Max recorded 17.9°C
Avg Minimum Temp 9.0°C
Daily Min recorded 1.2°C
Rainfall: 196.6mm
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Back to the wind…
Standing in the vines on a blustery cool day is a job that I have had to learn to enjoy over the years. Initially you feel overwhelmed, you prune a couple of rows, and it feels as if you have done nothing at all. This “dread” that you will never get to the end keeps sitting in your stomach until you are down to the last 4-5 rows, and finally it releases its grip. But once your mind along the journey does settle and the “dread” is dealt with by mapping out what can be done - you begin to start clearly thinking through plans, memories, problems, options and hopes without interruption. If you can quieten it, your mind does have the capacity to travel and develop new perspectives; thus, this window of back to the wind, Lapland beanie and rain weather clobber strapped on is the opportunity I take to mentally reset.
Also comrades, please keep an eye out on the inbox – Tim and I are hoping to tee up a dinner in Melbourne, mid-September, to support the release of the 2021 Allouran and 2022 Shiraz. We will have the latest Reserve wines (including the 2022 Deux Écus), Chardonnays, as well as some back vintage Allourans to add to the wines for the evening. Every wine dinner we have had over the years has been wonderful and I believe the proposed dinner and location (once confirmed), will prove to be just as good.
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As always if you have any queries about what has been written or about wine in general, do not hesitate to contact us either by email, Instagram or Twitter and we will do our very best to answer any question.
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Cheers
Mark Gifford
Blue Poles Vineyard