Sites

I’m pleased to introduce the four vineyards that will define our wines going forward. It’s taken years to establish this combination of great Australian sites - places with the character and age to make genuinely special wine.

Across all four sites, the approach is the same.
Patience and restraint sit at the centre of the craft: old vines, sensitive farming, intuitive winemaking and unhurried maturation.

Lofty Valley Vineyard

Ashton, Piccadilly Valley, Adelaide Hills

Chardonnay and Pinot Noir

Three hectares of beautiful Chardonnay and Pinot Noir is grown here by beautiful people - Rhys and Pip Elliott. One of the steepest, most unique sites in the Adelaide Hills, this is Chardonnay and Pinot Noir nirvana – but you have to work for it. Cool air, steep slopes, long growing days, cold nights. The slow ripening yields a vast aromatic range and thrilling flavour intensity. This beautiful, picturesque wilderness produces structured, detailed and age-worthy wines that reward patience and hard work.

Wines from Lofty Valley Vineyard

Yangarra Estate

Blewitt Springs, McLaren Vale

Grenache Blanc, Roussanne, Grenache

I first worked on this vineyard thirty years ago, and have a special connection to its old vines and ancient sandy soils. There’s a uniquely “Australian” atmosphere that feels beachy, coastal and native, yet Mediterranean at the same time. Parcels include old bush vine Grenache planted in 1946, and highly-prized Roussanne and Grenache Blanc from soils of sand over ironstone. Dry-grown on free-draining soils, yielding gorgeous wines with perfume, clarity and stunning texture that only old vines on sand can deliver.  

Wines from the Yangarra Estate

Brini Vineyard

Blewitt Springs, McLaren Vale

Grenache

Slightly further east of Yangarra, at 200m above the coastline lies the Brini vineyard, planted in the 1940’s by return servicemen, and nurtured by the Brini family since 1953. These 80-year-old, unirrigated Grenache bush vines produce wines of sublime aromatic complexity, elegance and concentration. The varying depths of sand over ironstone, the range of aspects, and the cool ocean breezes make this one of the great vineyards of Australia.

Hickinbotham Vineyard

Clarendon, McLaren Vale

Syrah

Where McLaren Vale meets the Adelaide Hills. Elevated slopes with distinct coastal influence, these dry-farmed vines planted in 1971 offer a multitude of aspects, exposures and distinct characteristics. Hickinbotham has been the source of some of Australia’s most iconic wines over the decades. The opportunity to paint my own expression is a privilege. This place holds heritage, history, character and sheer quality.