Back to the Future: The Central Vineyards, 2026. The 2022 Vintage
In this concluding instalment of my 2026 focus on the Central Vineyards I present the final collection of tasting notes on the wines of this region to be published this year. In this report I focus on the 2022 vintage, before I follow up with notes on the 2021, 2020 and older vintages, back as far as 2015.
To read my introduction to this report, which pays particular attention to how the region has grown, and to the changes I have witnessed here during the course of the last three decades, see Back to the Future: The Central Vineyards. Other reports presented alongside this one move the spotlight onto earlier vintages; these include a look at the 2024 vintage with more than 40 tasting notes, and a look at the 2023 vintage, featuring over 110 tasting notes.
Before I press on with my 60+ new tasting notes on the 2022 and prior vintages, I first present a recap of the 2022 season.
The 2022 Vintage
The 2022 vintage was defined by heat and drought. Across the Central Vineyards the season was characterised by exceptionally dry conditions and a run of heatwaves, although sporadic episodes of rainfall proved sufficient to prevent catastrophe.
The preceding winter was relatively mild and dry, followed by alternating episodes of sunshine and rain through March and April, prompting an early start to vegetative growth. Budbreak came around the middle of April, about two weeks earlier than the ten-year average, lengthening the period of frost risk. Temperatures were sufficently low to cause some angst on April 3rd and 9th, but thankfully relatively low humidity minimised the damage.
