The Vineyard
The 5 ha vineyard contains mature plantings of Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Shiraz. The vines grow on the deep granitic soils of Mt Alexander at an altitude of 450 metres, on a north east facing slope. It was originally planted in 1979 with Chardonnay and Pinot Noir and was amongst the first vineyards in the Harcourt/Mt Alexander district. In 1997 further plantings of Shiraz and Pinot Noir were added to expand it to the current 5 hectares.
Although the vineyard is located at the southern end of the Bendigo wine region the elevation and micro–climate make it a truly cool climate vineyard. The vineyard receives 1250 degree heat summation days – on a par with the Yarra Valley but the elevation means it is significantly cooler. Bendigo receives 1570 degree heat summation days and the elevation ranges from 250 – 350 metres.
The cool climate gives the fruit the complex flavours and intensity of a slow ripening period and harvesting can extend into May. It could be said of the vineyards of the southern slopes of Mount Alexander that they are, in fact, too cool for Bendigo!
The vineyard site benefits from good air movement through the canopy which helps to keep disease under control. David practises what he defines as ‘soft viticulture’ opting for sulphur and copper sprays, with a lot of personal time spent in the vineyard observing and taking care of vintage conditions thus minimizing the use of chemical sprays. The vineyard is hand pruned and a variety of canopy management techniques are used to optimize the fruit characters of each variety. Scott Henry is used in the Chardonnay and Pinot Noir and a loose Ballerina canopy is used to produce dappled sunlight in the Shiraz. Minimal irrigation with careful moisture monitoring ensures small berry size and intense flavour development in the hand picked fruit.