Henschke Innes Vineyard Pinot Gris 2007

The 2007 vintage, surprisingly, resulted in excellent quality wines and average yields being
obtained from the Adelaide Hills. The highly publicised drought of 2006 had been reported
as the worst ever. Our Lenswood vineyard in the Adelaide Hills received only half its annual
rainfall and was one of our driest seasons. Despite an early winter break, rainfall during
winter and spring was the worst for years in the lead-up to flowering. There was no spring
frost damage in Lenswood due to the steep terrain, but lack of subsoil moisture due to the
drought, helped to control yields. Brief heat waves occurred during January; otherwise, it
was mild and dry. At the end of January a tropical air mass connected with a cold front to
bring good rains to the agricultural areas of South Australia, with flooding in the north. The
rainfall fell steadily over four days, coinciding with verasion, which freshened up the vine
canopy to assist with ripening the fruit for harvest. February was recorded as the hottest for
100 years, bringing the harvest forward.
The vintage began three to four weeks early, one of the earliest on record, remaining dry and
mild allowing for good maturity. The whites were picked by March 20 and the reds by April
18, a record early finish. In summary, a warmer and drier Eden Valley-like vintage with
good average yields and excellent quality.