A major factor in our success has been the total control over all grape production on our single estate vineyard on Jacksons Road in Rapaura. While our vines are all in the same place on our approximately 70 hectare vineyard, it is far from a homogeneous “block” of land.
Our vineyard encompasses three different soil types:
Rapaura soil - Shallow (<45 cm) stony soil, excessively drained, developed from stony alluvium
Wairau soil - Deep (>75 cm) soil, well drained, developed from loamy and sandy alluvium
Wairau (mottled phase) soil - Deep (>75 cm) soil, well drained, developed from loamy and sandy alluvium
The one thing all these soil types have in common is that they are free draining, and naturally yield restricting. We also have the advantage of ample water supplies in the Wairau aquifer. Our other great advantage is early ripening and minimal frost threats.
The vines
We planted our first vines in 1989: on land that had previously been used for cropping and sheep farming. Further plantings have continued over the years and we now have eight different varieties spread throughout our vineyard, which makes us quite unique in these days of single variety vineyards. Our major planting is Sauvignon Blanc, spread over 12 different blocks within our vineyard, but we also grow Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Riesling, Pinot Gris, Semillon, Syrah and Gruner Veltliner.
Our Chardonnay block was planted in 1989. It is exclusively Mendoza clone, which is regarded as the premium clone for Chardonnay, although it does produce small bunches and low yields. It is also on its own roots, which makes it very rare in these days of grafted cuttings due to phylloxera. Our oldest Sauvignon Blanc plantings, from 1990, are also on their own roots. We use Mass Selection for all of our Sauvignon plantings. Interestingly, we also have some of Marlborough’s oldest plantings of Syrah (TK0620 Chave clone), once again on their own roots, planted in 1990.
Our two Riesling blocks were planted in 1994 and 1996, using GM 238 and GM 239. Our first Pinot Noir planting was in 1996 and we now have three Pinot blocks, using Dijon clones 114, 115, 667, 777, and UDC5 from California. Our Semillon was planted in 2001, Pinot Gris (clones Lincoln Berrysmith and KWV 40A) in 2006, and most recently Gruner Veltliner (clone A1-2) was planted in 2010, making us one of the earlier growers of “Gruner”.
Management
We are proud to practice sustainable grape-growing techniques throughout the whole grape-growing and winemaking cycle. We are also pleased to be eligible to be members of Appellation Wine Marlborough (AWM) because of our vineyard practices and restricted yields.
In a throw-back to past glories, sheep are used extensively throughout the vineyard to control weeds and grass. Horses still graze where once their predecessors used to work the land. Most of the original farm buildings, some up to 100 years old, are still in use, but in a role certainly not envisaged by their builders.
