Adelaide Hills
The core fruit for my Chardonnay comes from The Garden Vineyard in the Adelaide Hills, which sits high at 500 metres elevation beside the picturesque Mount Lofty Botanical Garden. Grower Bernie Swaby’s meticulousness in the vineyard is so intrinsic to the quality. The grapes here ripen through cold nights and long cool autumns, with the time to build exceptional complexity, in a fuller style that eschews the trend for leanness.
My Sauvignon Blanc grapes are grown on the steep, east facing Hill Block planted in 1992 in Summertown, at the northern end of the Piccadilly Valley in the Adelaide Hills, arguably Australia’s best region for the variety.
My Pinot Noir comes from a particularly steep block in Lenswood in the Adelaide Hills. At 560 metres above sea level, the southwest facing block is very high altitude and planted to four clones: MV6, 777, 114 and 115.
My Syrah from the Adelaide Hills is planted many kilometres to the west in Mount Torrens. The Fife Road vineyard produces stunning Shiraz in the cool climate style. This hidden block has sub-soil yellow clay and a light dusting of more fertile top soil producing very low yielding, highly spiced fruit.