2013 Vintage Report

What a great season to be a grape grower! Only a few little curve balls to worry about rather than the bouncers we’ve had to face over the last few seasons, such as a deluge of rain during harvest, heat waves during flowering or non stop rain and wind that we had to deal with in 2011. This season has been a cracker and we reckon we have grown some our best fruit in in the last five years. 

The 2012/13 growing season started quite off quite cool and dry, with vine growth steady early on. 

We had a mild frost in early October that touched up some Cabernet and Merlot vines at the bottom of a few gullies but these vines soon caught up. The season soon warmed up with a return to average temperatures from November to January. The average temperatures combined with lower than average rainfall resulted in really well balanced canopies and minimal disease pressure. 

Vine foliage growth pulled up naturally reducing the need for green trimming in all varieties except the perennially vigorous Shiraz. Bunches were of an average size this season and well spread out in the bunch zone. 

We had quite a comprehensive canopy management plan this season for our Climbing and Cumulus blocks with wire lifting, shoot thinning and leaf plucking. We even trialled a mechanical leaf plucking machine on our reds, and we are now seeing great results in the wines with softer tannins evident. 

Vine balance was the best I have seen since 2008/09 and the fruit picked very cleanly during harvest. 

White wines are showing great elegance and fine flavours, with Chardonnay and our Sparkling base proving to be particularly good this year. Merlot is the standout red varietal.

Marty Gransden
Cumulus Viticulturalist

SILVER MEDAL FOR ROLLING SHIRAZ 2011

Rolling Shiraz 2011 has been awarded a Silver Medal at the 2013 Syrah du Monde recently held in France. Syrah du Monde is an international competition showcasing the best Syrah/Shiraz in the world.

Decanter World Wine Awards

Cumulus has picked up 4 Bronze and 6 Commended awards at the Decanter World Wine Awards 2013 recently held in the UK.

The winning wines are: 

Inkberry Shiraz Cabernet 2011

SILVER MEDAL for our ROLLING CABERNET MERLOT

We are pleased to announce that the Rolling Cabernet Merlot 2011 has just been awarded a Silver Medal at the International Wine Challenge. A great result for a superb wine.

To view all the results click here.

90+ by James Halliday Australian Wine Companion

Cumulus Estate Wines are proud to announce the achievment of six of our wines rated 90 points and above in the James Halliday Australian Wine Companion 2013 edition.

James Halliday's Australian Wine Companion is the No. 1 best-selling guide on wineries and wine in Australia. James in one of the world's leading authorities on Australian wine, matching intelligent, honest reviews with unparalleled knowledge of, and passion for, the wine industry.

For more information visit the James Halliday Australian Wine Companion website.

Climbing Chardonnay 2011 = 90
Climbing Pinot Gris = 90
Climbing Merlot 2010 = 91

Cumulus Chardonnay 2011 = 93
Cumulus Shiraz 2010 = 91
Cumulus Shiraz 2009 = 93

GOLD MEDAL for our ROLLING SHIRAZ

The Cairns Wine Show Awards presented by Profile Magazine has become a feature on the Australian Wine Industry Calendar...and our Rolling Shiraz picked up a Gold Medal at the recent Cairns Wine Show.

2012 Vintage Report

Vintage commenced on the 16th February (same date as last year) with the harvesting of Chardonnay and Pinot Grigio for our Sparkling base. Since then, we have picked our Chardonnay for Rolling, Climbing & Cumulus. We have also picked Riesling, Pinot Gris, Semillon & Sauvignon Blanc.

We have picked our Shiraz & Merlot with some of our Cabernet and awaiting the last of our Cabernet block to ripen.

We aim to be finished picking just after Easter.