2015 Australian Vintage

The 2015 season ran from spring 2014 through the autumn 2015 harvest. A wet spring across much of the country shrank yields, but a warm summer saved the season. In South Australia a wet winter gave way to a drier, warmer-than-average spring that advanced flowering by about two weeks, and a few late-season frosts lowered yields, particularly in the northern Barossa. A dry, windy January brought bushfires in the Adelaide Hills that destroyed nearly 100 acres of vineyards and left smoke taint for some. Victoria had an early spring with occasional rain and cold snaps, then a long, cool summer with no heat spikes. In Western Australia wet, windy weather at flowering cut yields by as much as 20 to 30 percent, and rain in early April affected later-picked parcels. Picking started in early February in South Australia and Victoria and in mid-February in Western Australia.

• Adelaide Hills: January bushfires left smoke taint for some vintners
• Victoria: harvest about three weeks early
• Western Australia: harvest about two weeks early because of the smaller crop

It was a warm, quick season for most vintners; hot weather at the end accelerated ripening and triggered an early, condensed harvest, and some battled low yields. Jim Barry Wines fermented Riesling, Shiraz and Cabernet Sauvignon in February for the first time. Wine Spectator named Shiraz and Cabernet Sauvignon the promising grapes, with intense tannins, deep colors and good cellaring potential, and whites with bright flavors and acidity. Louisa Rose of Yalumba said: "It is a really early call, but 2015 could well go down as another really great vintage."

• Challenging: low yields for Cabernet Sauvignon

Victorian winemakers told Wine Spectator they considered 2015 one of the best years in recent memory, with a dry, warm autumn and wines of finesse and elegance. In Western Australia the season was warm and sunny without extreme heat, though cooler weather later in the harvest slowed red ripening. Many producers had their earliest ever finish to the white vintage, some in the first week of March, with yields down across the board.

• Victoria: Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Shiraz the promising grapes
• Western Australia: some Cabernet Sauvignon yields 50 percent below normal
• Margaret River: Cyclone Olwyn brought some rain and cooler nights, extending red ripening

The 2015 crush was 1.67 million tonnes, up 0.4 percent on 2014. Higher Riverina yields were offset by lower yields in Murray Darling and most cooler temperate regions. South Australia crushed 717,000 tonnes, 47 percent of the total.

• Reds down 4 percent to 835,500 tonnes; whites up 5 percent to 834,000 tonnes