Mr Derrick had one last tonne-and-a-half left to leave the vines on Tuesday, but the otherwise welcome rain would "knock the sugar level off".

While the drought caused havoc for many producers, a drier than average season was celebrated at the Cargo Road vineyard.

"It's been a good year," Mr Derrick said.

"Probably the best. We thought 2015 was great, then 2018 was better. Now we think 2019 has surpassed it."

The dry conditions have meant slower to mature grapes and therefore a more robust flavour.

Out at Montoro, Mr Derrick and his wife Jennifer Derrick selected four rows which were behind in maturity to cover with nets and give a little extra time.

This week, months after they picked the last of their other rows, "probably the last grapes picked in NSW" went into the bucket.

"We're making a port," the vigneron said. "But we call it a vintage shiraz."

Mr Derrick said they've been waiting six years for conditions like 2019 and the chance to get Rikard Wines' Will Rikard-Bell on board to replicate the port/vintage shiraz he and De Salis Wines' Charlie Svenson created for them in 2013.

"It's not brown and tawny like a port, it's red, vibrant and fruit driven," he said.

"We call it 'Remember' because it'll last 30 years from the time you open it and stay as red as the day it was bottled."