In general, the crop size of the 2010 vintage in the Stellenbosch region was almost 20% lower than the 2009 vintage. Reasons for this decline include the following:

Smaller bunches without any side bunches / weather conditions / pests and disease / gale force winds during late October and early November

In spite of these negative influences, the grape quality was exceptional. The exception being Pinotage which still had hard, chewy skins at ripening, but this was corrected in the cellar. Grape must analysis was exceptional, with high sugars and acids with low pH values. Malic acids were high, especially on the Pinotage and Merlot.

The early growing season will be remembered for its very strong winds. After a cold, wet winter all the work in the vineyards was completed, and then on the 9th of November 2009 the easterly wind started blowing at speeds of up to 150km/h. Most of the damage was caused on vineyards where suckering was completed. The shoots of the bush vines were blown off, grape berries “chafed” against each other, bunches were sandblasted and poor berry set took place. Trellised vineyards planted in an east-west row direction had broken shoots on the first horizontal wire, resulting in a “brush-cut” look on the cordons of the vine.

November’s rainfall was almost four times as high as the long term average. December and January were very dry.

In January of 2010, the Pinotage vineyards were about 10 days late with veraison. Their growth was fairly vigorous, but with very little grapes on the bunches due to the wind damage of the preceding November. The removal of side shoots in blocks 103B and 103C was not done properly, and there were patches with very dense foliage.

During the 1st week of February, the sugars in the Pinotage escalated rapidly. Late ripening varietals like the Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc started changing colour very quickly, making it difficult to remove the green bunches in time. Crops size of these varietals were also considerably less due to the wind damage.

In the 2nd week of February, the sugars of the Pinotage stopped accumulating, and the decision was made not to be hasty with the picking. Pinotage Blocks B307 and B309 expressed some green characters due to uneven budburst earlier in the season.

February was cool to begin with, but then a heat wave for the rest of the month, which stretched into March, resulted in sugars rising rapidly, but ripening was delayed. The colour of the red varieties was exceptionally intense.

From a viticultural point of view it was a very difficult year, but wine wise the quality was excellent. A vintage that was one of the toughest in recent history to call, and a real test of the winemaker’s savvy. Consumers should be guided by the producer’s track record.

Kanonkop Vintage Rating: 4 stars