2006 Australia Vintage

In general, a wet winter was followed by a warm, damp spring and a mild, pleasant summer, and South Australia had what Decanter called perfect ripening conditions. Western Australia was the exception: a cold winter and the coolest summer in 45 years, then a rainy autumn that delayed picking. In Victoria, temperatures shot up in early summer, and the Yarra Valley recorded several days above 40 C before February and March settled to more moderate, though still above average, levels. In New South Wales, meagre rainfall reduced yields by 10 to 20 percent, and the Canberra District's warmest summer since 1998 hastened ripening. In the Barossa, December and January temperatures were consistently mild, then a mild to cool autumn with some rain slowed ripening. Harvest ran two to three weeks early in most places, with lower than average yields, and the Yarra Valley vintage began in early February, one of the earliest on record.

• Wet winter, warm damp spring and mild summer in general
• Western Australia: coolest summer in 45 years, rainy autumn
• Yarra Valley: several days above 40 C in early summer

The 2006 crush was estimated at 1.846 million tonnes, just over 4 percent below the record 2005 vintage of 1.925 million tonnes. The crush would have been higher had some winegrapes not been left on the vines, or harvested onto the ground, in response to declining prices and poor returns for some growers. Shiraz remained the largest variety at about 441,000 tonnes, ahead of Chardonnay at 423,000 tonnes. In the Barossa, 92,352 tonnes of wine grapes were crushed in 2006 from 12,538 hectares of vineyards.

• National crush 1.846 million tonnes, down just over 4 percent

Decanter described the wines as fully ripe with good tannic structure and well-developed flavours, and named South Australian reds the stars: intensely flavoured, with modest alcohol and good ageing potential. Its standouts were Clare Valley, Barossa, Wrattonbully, Coonawarra and Langhorne Creek, and it noted full, fruity Pinot Noir from Tasmania and the Upper Yarra. The Barossa Grape and Wine Association's own report described young 2006 Barossa Shiraz with good upfront fruit, elegance and a tannin structure suggesting longevity. Winetitles' Yarra Valley report called 2006 a very good vintage across all varieties.

Decanter's best producers for 2006 included Wirra Wirra Vineyards (McLaren Vale), Kilikanoon and Jim Barry (Clare Valley), Elderton, John Duval Wines and Torbreck (Barossa Valley), Jasper Hill (Heathcote), Yarra Yering (Yarra Valley) and Moorilla Estate (Tasmania).

• South Australia: Wirra Wirra, Kilikanoon, Jim Barry, Elderton, John Duval Wines, Torbreck