The preceding 2003 growing and ripening season
was warmer than the previous two, as well as
having little summer rain fall. The growing season
was kind to the southwest vigneron. The vines were
able to find a nice balance between their fruiting
and vegetative growth at around Christmas.

Warm conditions in the first two weeks of January, and healthy vines resulted in a rapid sugaring of the berries and earlier harvest dates than historical averages predicted. The white harvest was compact, and tested the strength of characters of the viticulturists
and winemakers. It is interesting to note that great vintages are frequently associated with rapid ripening of the fruit.

The schooling salmon off the Margaret River coast arrived in mid – February, a few weeks earlier than in previous seasons. I wonder if their earlier arrival is prompted by factors
that also influenced the vines to ripen a bit earlier?
We were delighted by the flavours and textures of the fruit. The perfumes fine, the flavours intense and exotic. Early indications are that the wines will be balanced, with a generosity reflective of the warmth and kindness of the superb growing season. The growing season continued to be superb until the third week of March, at which time we had a rapid introduction to the autumn rains.

The Wise Margaret River Vineyards are at the “top end” of the Margaret River region.
The northerly locations of our vineyards correspond to the fruit ripening a bit earlier
than more southerly sites. We were fortunate enough to have all our fruit in, except for
one small Cabernet vineyard, before the autumn rains set in. The Cabernet fruit designated for the Lot 80 was of exceptional quality and has produced wines with an abundance of concentrated blackberries and plums. Similarly, we are excited to see how the Cabernet wine from our 32-year-old Bramley Vineyard will evolve.

Our Eagle Bay Shiraz was picked well before the rain. The fruit was dripping with plum, pepper and spice. The small berries have resulted in a wine that is highly concentrated with ripe fruit characters. We always harvest our Eagle Bay Shiraz vineyard according to the soil types. The vines, which grow in the iron stone gravel rich soils, always make it to this wine. It is amazing how much impact the soil has on the personality of the fruit.

The Cabernet sauvignon, Cabernet franc and Merlot grapes from our Donnybrook Valley Vineyard makes up our Single Vineyard blend. Each year this vineyard far exceeds our expectations in quality. 2003 was no exception. The wines are showing their usual finesse with attractive perfumes and a palate full of red berries, violets and velvety tannins. The fruit from these mature, low yielding vines in laterite soils that are protected by surrounding Jarrah trees always impress.

Overall, and across the board, the vintage was exceptional for Wise. At present, (August 2003), the wines are young, dripping with personality and waiting to greet new and continuing friends.

Bruce Dukes & Amanda Kramer
Consultant Winemaker & Winemaker