As we wrap up the red grape harvest at Oldenburg Vineyards, we are thrilled to report that the 2025 vintage is shaping up to be spectacular. This season has delivered near-perfect conditions, reminiscent of the legendary 2015 vintage, placing it among the finest of the past 25 years.
The weather has been a key factor in this success. Since late October, we’ve experienced an exceptionally dry period with little rain. The absence of rainfall has allowed the grapes to ripen evenly. Temperatures have been warm but not excessively hot, and when combined with generally cool evenings and the lack of rain, we have struck a “Goldilocks” balance – just right for optimal vine stress. This ideal stress level encourages the vines to focus on producing concentrated berries with optimal phenolic ripeness and flavour profiles. Cool evenings have further enhanced this process, preserving acidity and freshness in the grapes.
However, nature always keeps us on our toes. While the dry conditions were a blessing, strong easterly winds earlier in the season caused some damage, particularly in our Grenache, Merlot and Syrah blocks. These winds led to ‘raisining’ (damaged, dehydrated berries) in certain areas, necessitating meticulous sorting before and during harvest. Our Team worked tirelessly to remove any compromised berries, ensuring only the best fruit made it through. As a result, yields are down significantly – just 50% of normal, translating to only 1600 bottles versus the 2024 harvest of 2300 bottles and 2023 of 3200 bottles of Grenache, for example. Similar wind impacts in the Syrah and Merlot blocks have also dramatically reduced crop yields. Overall, our 2025 harvest will be about 20% below our forecasts and below the 2024 vintage, which also fell prey to damaging winds.
Again, I am impressed and proud of the Team’s precision level and attention to detail. Pre- and post-harvest berry sorting is key, but block delineation is also critical. Nic and Christo have spent many hours understanding the blocks by walking and tasting them row by row and figuring out how to balance the complexities of harvesting small portions of each block according to optimal ripeness. The Team’s act of balancing the many small batches seems reflexive. For instance, each small batch needs its own vessel for fermentation. This year, we have added an array of new small tanks and amphorae, and when combined with concrete eggs and even some large older barrels, the cellar is like a large kitchen with many different experiments going on at once. There is even a little foot stomping on the Grenache and Syrah!
This vintage has also seen the maiden harvest of our young Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc blocks. Nic and Christo are super excited by the berries’ quality (and small size) here. While vineyards take a decade or two to show the benefits of ageing, precision viticulture makes it possible to get some great wines from young vineyards. Christo’s take on this is that, like young children, they need very ‘active’ management, whereas older blocks, again like people, generally need less management – everything happens slower. With their on-point precision management, Christo and his Team have delivered some exceptional fruit from these blocks, and it will be great to see the juice develop into exciting wines.
The vintage’s most exciting aspect has been the Bordeaux varieties’ berry size, particularly Cabernet Sauvignon and Franc. The climatic conditions have reduced the vigour of the vines – no rain, less growth, more of the right stress – translating into smaller berries, increasing their concentration, given the lower skin-to-juice ratio. Also, they have thicker skins, and with longer fruit hang time (slow and even ripening), we have seen better colour and tannin extraction, riper pips, thus less bitterness, and overall better phenolics with no greenness nor astringency. When it comes to the Cabernets – this is as good as it gets!
The early indications from Nic suggest that this vintage will rival 2015 in structure and complexity. The Cabernet Sauvignon shows incredible promise with deep colour, vibrant acidity, and a stunning array of aromatics. Meanwhile, our Merlot, Syrah and Grenache display intense concentration and purity of flavour, thanks to their lower yields.
Stay tuned for more updates as we transform these exceptional grapes into something truly unique!
