1977 vintage guide for Red Australia

A desolate year

1/5

Weather Conditions

Warmer and earlier-ripening regions whose fruit was well in the can before March turned wet and cold managed to fare better than the cooler regions in the country’s west and south-east.

Best Appellations

Adelaide Hills and Hunter Valley suffered somewhat while Margaret River fruit was harvested earlier than ideal.

Best Producers

In a desolate year for Australian red wine, the best were made by Penfolds – who were clearly helped by their multi-regional philosophies and their ability to source reduced volumes from warmer sites – plus Henschke and the new Victorian red wine specialist of Taltarni in the Pyrenees region.