1989 was a dry year. There was scarcely any rain during a warm and early spring; we had intermittent showers over the week between Christmas and New Year, and then following a cool and cloudy but quite dry January no further rain until well after harvest. The total rainfall for the 1st October to 30th April growing season was just over 110mm. Vintage was almost a month earlier than average and finished on the 31st March.