Vintage & Cellaring Guide
Cellaring Guide
The McLeish Estate collection can be enjoyed young, but will also reward patience. The McLeish Semillon and Shiraz in our opinion is either best in its youth, with vibrant primary fruit characters (within 24 months of release) or left to develop in the cellar for 7 – 10+ years.
The key tip for cellaring is to avoid light and temperature fluctuations in your cellar space and ensure the wine is kept cool (not above 20 degrees).
When considering what wines to cellar, in our opinion it is best to use the analogy that a wine is like a vintage car, it had to be built well from the start to be able to drink well as an older wine. Cellaring recommendations based on vintages have been created to enable you to decide on what wines are best for you to cellar.
Year | Taste | ||
|---|---|---|---|
2007 | Excellent, dry growing season, exceptional whites and outstanding reds | ||
2008 | Mild, light showers, late harvest classic whites and very good varietal purity throughout the reds | ||
2009 | Very good growing season, spring rain and dry December/January. Excellent whites and concentrated reds. | ||
2010 | Hot start to January, early harvest, with mid vintage rain, expressive whites and elegant reds. | ||
2011 | Excellent vintage, spring rain lead to a mid-January harvest with warm/hot conditions, very good whites & great reds | ||
2012 | Mild and wet vintage conditions with light whites and light/medium reds | ||
2013 | Dry growing season for whites with some mid- vintage showers. Excellent whites & medium bodied reds | ||
2014 | Exceptional vintage, dry and warm to hot. Excellent whites & exceptional reds | ||
2015 | Moderate temperatures, some showers in January, drying out to sunshine. delicate whites & medium-bodied reds | ||
2016 | Wet January lead to a record hot conditions in February. Superb whites & very good reds | ||
2017 | Very hot & dry Summer, lower than average rainfall, excellent ripening conditions. Exceptional whites & concentrated reds. | ||
2018 | Lower than average rainfall, dry drought conditions, superb ripening with pristine fruit. Exceptional whites & reds. | ||
2019 | Trifecta year of drought, hot and dry winter, spring and summer. Vintage was early and quick. Exceptional whites and reds, healthy bunches with no disease pressure. | ||
2020 | Hot with bushfires. Yields down by 70%. Young drinking whites and reds. | ||
2021 | Mild showers before vintage, dry and hot during harvest. Very good whites and reds | ||
2022 | Wettest Spring in 10 years, La nina. Cool/ mild conditions continued into early January. Warm conditions followed into mid-January providing good ripening conditions for the whites. Cabernet Sauvignon matured before the Shiraz. The Shiraz and Merlot have both been put to the Dwyer Rose. | ||
2023 | Cool / mild conditions throughout January. Warmer conditions from the 27th of January onwards with vintage starting on the 3rd of February, two weeks later than usual. A very good season for the Chardonnay and reds. Wines have good balance. | ||
2024 | The vintage was exceptionally quick with only a month between the first and final harvest coming into the winery. The overall dry conditions have provided optimal flavor and scientific ripeness across all varietals. Spectacular season. | ||
2025 | Hunter classics from an ideal growing season, with healthy canopy and excetionally high crop yields. Excellent whites and classic medium bodied reds. | ||
2026 | Warm growing season followed by balanced rainfall, mild, dry ripening weather, producing pristine fruit with vibrant freshness, concentrated flavour, elegant structure and classic Hunter Valley character. |
Year | Semillon rating | Best drinking | Shiraz rating | Best drinking |
|---|---|---|---|---|
2007 | 10/10 | D = drink now – 2027 | 8/10 | 2015 |
2008 | 7/10 | D – 2021 | N/A | 2013 |
2009 | 9.5/10 | D – 2029 | 7.5/10 | 2022 |
2010 | 8/10 | D – 2025 | 8/10 | 2025 |
2011 | 9/10 | D – 2031 | 9.5/10 | 2029 |
2012 | 7/10 | D – 2022 | N/A | 2022 |
2013 | 10/10 | D – 2033 | 9/10 | 2026 |
2014 | 9.5/10 | D – 2034 | 10/10 | D – 2035 |
2015 | 7.5/10 | D – 2025 | 8/10 | 2028 |
2016 | 8/10 | 2022 – 2034 | 8.5/10 | 2032 |
2017 | 9.5/10 | 2024 – 2037 | 9/10 | D – 2038 |
2018 | 10/10 | 2025 – 2038 | 10/10 | D – 2038 |
2019 | 9/10 | D – 2039 | 9/10 | D – 2039 |
2020 | N/A | – | N/A | – |
2021 | 8/10 | D – 2041 | 7.5/10 | D – 2029 |
2022 | 8/10 | D – 2042 | 8/10 | D – 2029 |
2023 | 8.5/10 | D – 2043 | 8.5/10 | D – 2031 |