2016 will be remembered as one of Otago's great vintages. It was warmer than the vintages either side, with some of the earliest, most uniform flowering I've ever seen. More significantly, it was - according to records - the driest in 56 years, and although we had the correct number of grapes, yield/ha was low as they were small and concentrated with a high skin to juice ratio. The resulting wines are darker in colour and have more tannin structure than previous vintages. There is also ripeness and a great concentrated fruit presence providing balance.