With all this soil moisture we were set for vigorous Spring growth - the vines now wanted to grow foliage - not fruit and the expected poor flowering conditions did eventuate - the French call this 'coloure' (floral abortion).

Everybody in Marlborough had problems with excessive leaf growth. Vineyards did eventually dry out through January and February (our traditional summer months) and diligent growers began to make headway with fruit exposure to sunlight by continuous leaf plucking. As the 'canopy' was thinned out and the fruit was exposed, it became apparent yields were down on the previous year.

Uncharacteristically we received more rain at the end of March and this delayed harvesting for some of the early varieties, Pinot Noir, Pinot Gris and Chardonnay. Once pre-harvest laboratory analysis of fruit bounces began, it became apparent some acid levels were elevated in those Marlborough vineyards with fruit still hidden behind a wall of leaves. It was clear Marlborough was still in a coolish weather cycle since 2002/2003 - 'Global Warming' has not quite reached Marlborough!

Look for Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc's tending towards the herbal end of the flavour spectrum - but with more concentration. Isabel Sauvignon Blanc has definitive notes of lychees and pineapple - which reflects the work Mike Newman and his team put into exposing the fruit to the sunlight by constant leaf removal.

This truly was a vintage to test the responsiveness of diligent grape growers.