Let’s talk vintage
We sat down with the makers to talk vintage and got an incredible insight into the 2023 and upcoming 2024 release. From community collaboration and lessons learned to the power of Mother Nature, we learn of the hard work involved in bringing in a vintage. We also find out the creative backstory of the Rosa Glen Farm wine names.
With the 2023 Rosa Glen Farm vintage release we saw you produce five incredible natural wines. How would you describe your first vintage year of winemaking?
Our first vintage was a huge learning period. The winter and spring time were wet and cold, budburst was toward the end of October. It was amazing to see our vines wake up from their winter hibernation for the first time. We learnt quickly about how to deal with snails and weevils using organic practices and managed to protect the vines as best we could.
Our first harvest started with the Sauvignon Blanc in the last week of February, a small team hand picking a 1Ha block. A few weeks later we machined harvested the remaining Sauvignon Blanc, Semillon and Cabernet Sauvignon for Rosé. There had been a day of rain leading into harvest which caused botrytis in some of the Semillon and our bird friends, The Silver Eyes, decided that they wanted to take their share of bunches.
The old Cabernet Sauvignon block was harvested on April 1 ending the 2023 growing season. We were so excited about this block, we’d been told when we moved in that it was time to replant the old Cabernet, that it had past its prime. This certainly isn’t the case, our Prussian Cabernet boldly illustrates that old can be made new again.
All varieties were harvested at lower sugar levels than most traditional winemakers would normally work with. Our goal will always be to produce easy drinking wines with lower alcohol level, harvesting at a low sugar play into this philosophy.
The 2023 wines were made with the help and guidance of our surrounding local community of winemakers, viticulturalists and farmers. We were so lucky to have their support and knowledge to guide us through. At times the 2023 vintage felt like a patient celebration and that’s the true joy in natural winemaking, we let the grapes take the centre stage without any human tricks to influence what ends up in the bottle. We use minimal intervention in the fermentation and ageing process, just semi-regular tasting to check how the individual barrels and tanks are progressing.
Each of your natural wines have very creative names. How did you come up with them?
The Prussian, our Cabernet Sauvignon, is a nod to our shared German heritage and family connection to farming, the land and biodynamics.
Honey Bones, our Semillon, has honey like undertones and a beautiful golden hue. The name comes from a Dope Lemon song.
Isla in the Sun, our Sparkling Rosé, was named after our young daughter. It’s a brash newcomer made from untamed Cabernet Sauvignon vines at the top of the vineyard.
Music has a huge impact on our everyday lives at Rosa Glen Farm. Lotus Flower, our Sauvignon Blanc, is a Radiohead song that has an amazing beat, makes us want to dance to Thom Yorke in the video clip while drinking a few bottles of Lotus Flower with friends.
On the Beach, our Sauvignon Blanc, was named after the 1974 Neil Young song and album. The song On the Beach feels so raw, it soars to great heights but could fall to pieces at any moment. On the Beach is a skin contact wine, and like the song, it's raw and always changing.
What can we expect from the 2024 vintage?
The 2024 vintage was a huge challenge as the Margaret River region recorded no rain from October through April, the driest summer on record. We ran out of water in the vineyard early in January so it was a struggle to keep the vines healthy. The Silver Eyes stayed away, they were busy with the native Marri blossom bloom which was visually stunning at sunrise and sunset each day.
The natural fermentation process was also affected by the heat and they required constant monitoring. Over time the wines have improved in barrel and tank and some of our early fears about the wine quality have dissipated.
Due to heat, the overall yield of the vineyard fell dramatically so the 2024 vintage will be a small one in terms of bottles produced.
When will the 2024 vintage be available to buy?
We expect to have the 2024 rosé and white wines ready to ship toward the end of November 2024. Subscribe to our website to be kept informed of future release dates.
