Hello All,

A belated Happy New Year to everyone, I hope that you had a good Christmas with friends and family.

Up to the 31st of December 2025 we received almost bang on 1000mm of rainfall at Brokenwood, which is almost 250mm above our long-term average of 752mm. Despite the high rainfall, most of it fell before the end of August which resulted in a full soil moisture profile and a later than average budburst. Some lovely dry early Spring weather was welcomed but it did not last. The traditional August winds arrived in force in early September and have hung around since. Constant wind made for a relatively challenging growing season as it dried things out relatively quickly, flowering was impacted and it also made our Vineyard Team’s job a little trying as windows to get into the vineyards became difficult to find. Despite all of this, the vines were in good condition with dry weather meaning minimal disease pressure.

A localised hailstorm in the first week of November impacted Oakey Creek but thankfully not our Single Vineyard Shiraz vineyards. Both November and December were hotter and drier than average but Katrina Barry (Vineyard Manager) and Fletch did a great job of managing the heat with irrigation and timely applications of sunscreen. There was a couple of anxious days with the Hunter being clouded in bushfire smoke in the lead up to Christmas but thankfully some timely rain put this to bed.

Coming into mid-January fruit condition and canopy are excellent, though tracking 7-10 days earlier than average. The last fortnight has been hot which pushed ripening along at rapid pace, it was looking like an incredibly fast paced vintage. Pokolbin received 35mm on Sunday night which was welcome. It has freshened up the vines and slowed things down a little, this is of particular value to the Shiraz which is still a couple of weeks away from being ready.

We picked our first fruit off Oakey Creek on Friday 9th of January and will have all the Chardonnay off Oakey Creek by Wednesday morning. We will roll straight into Semillon which is coming on quickly and there is more rain forecast for later in the week.

At this stage, yields look to be below 2025 but still around average.

The forecast for the coming week is much cooler with the chance of a shower or two. A little rain will not be an issue as the fruit is in excellent condition and will make scheduling a little calmer and the vintage cru’s baptism of fire a little milder.

Both Beechworth and McLaren Vale have had a drier than average year, with a particularly warm and dry summer. Fruit condition is excellent, and I expect to make a start in Beechworth in early February and McLaren Vale not until March. I will keep everyone updated as we get closer.

This year’s visiting vintage cru is made up of:

  • Sam Higgins: South Australian lad, second vintage.
  • Fraser Cameron: South Australian lad, seventh vintage.
  • Clemence Potier: French girl, sixth vintage
  • Jesslyn Collins: aka Brains 2026: Canadian/South Australian. Fourth year Oenology student. Second vintage.
  • Nicola Barnes: Sydney girl, first vintage.

In the meantime, keep your fingers and toes crossed for a continuation of this mild weather so we make the most of what has the capacity to be an excellent 2026 harvest.

— Stuart Hordern (Chief Winemaker)