The weather for Vintage 2024 varied from that typical of a warm, dry season to a wet and windy one with sub-tropical weather systems before returning to that of a warm and dry season. The sharp weather changes can be divided up into three distinct periods.
Initially, the Vintage, from budburst to flowering, was cooler than average and dry. The growing season began in October and November with rainfall well below average and a good mix of cool mornings and warm sunny days. There were small patches of frost damage, but overall, vine shoot growth was even.
The season changed to be windy and cold at flowering, mid-November, which extended flowering and affected berry set and uniformity. This was followed soon after by an exceptionally wet December and January. Disease pressure was high through this wet period with Powdery Mildew control being important during this phase of the season. December and January’s combined rainfall is approximately ten times more than the same time in 2022/23. There was also damage from high-strength winds, which were seen to decrease the yields of windswept vineyard sites.
In a complete turnaround, the end of summer into autumn was arid, and McLaren Vale experienced 46 straight days without rain from the 26th of January, including a heatwave in February of four consecutive days at or above 37ºC. For some parts of the wine region, the heatwave will be a defining factor of vintage 2024, but in other sites, the effects were not as significant. Weather conditions in March were the hottest, and driest since Vintage 2008.
The dry weather conditions combined with the heat led to vintage compression, with many of McLaren Vale’s wineries working at maximum capacity from late February right through to the end of March. Almost all of the vineyards in the McLaren Vale Wine Region were picked in this five week timeframe. After this intense period, there was some breathing room over Easter as the wineries waited for the later ripening varieties to reach optimal sugar and phenolic ripeness. Late season ripening varieties were harvested within the first week of April.
Generally, the yields of most varieties in our region were well below the long-term average, and those of Cabernet Sauvignon and Shiraz were particularly low. Grenache yields were above average as the variety handled conditions well, had good better set despite unfavourable flowering conditions, and was not heat affected.
The two graphs show the seasonal rainfall (FIG 1) and temperatures (FIG 2) experienced.