Bethany Wines 2022 Vintage Report

The vintage of 2021 in the Barossa has been described by many as a ‘unicorn’ vintage, almost perfect in terms of yield and quality across the board. So how Mother Nature follow up from that in 2022? Well, she does it differently of course! One of the enduring joys and frustrations of winemaking is that no two vintages are every alike, as winemakers we love to compare and contrast, but it’s incredibly difficult to find two vintages the same either in terms of weather or what ends up in the glass.

And so 2022 was different. Plenty of rain during the winter and spring were followed by some pretty hectic spring weather conditions with a very significant hail storm at the end of October. To have vineyards in peak condition one day and then the next for them to look like they’ve been trimmed by a maniac with a whipper-snipper is a horrifying thing for a grower. At Bethany we were affected by this storm, not as badly as some, but bad enough. With strong winds also affecting flowering things were looking very challenging for 2022. Fortunately, the weather throughout the rest of the growing season was exactly what we needed, there were no major heat spikes or drought events, the temperatures were stable and relatively low for the region which meant that the grapes that survived spring were able to gently and steadily reach flavour ripeness in conjunction with sugar ripeness.

The result is some truly stunning wines in 2022. We have Shiraz of exceptional aromatic purity and brightness with fine and significant tannins giving structure and freshness. Cabernet is a true standout this year, it always benefits from a more gentle growing season and that is certainly what it got in 2022. The whites are balanced and bright across the board and Grenache and its friends all benefited from time on the vine (as opposed to high warmth) to develop full, bright and rich flavours. It was a long vintage (first crush 28 January, last press 29 April), so there were a few tired heads around in May, but the results will most definitely be worth it! Enjoy, Alex