The right land is the single most important factor in growing great wine.
This has been proven in Burgundy where Pinot Noir has been grown for many centuries and history has shown that some parcels of land consistently produce great wine. These areas or parcels of land have been geographically mapped as Grand Cru. Understanding why a site consistently produces outstanding wine is never simple due to the interactions between soils, aspect, climate, vines and people. With our knowledge of soils, climate and agriculture and the example of Burgundy we searched for the land that we believed would one day prove to stand out as Grand Cru.
Here is our story.
Why we chose this land.
Grand Cru sites only exist because of the determination of people to achieve great things. Our reason to plant vines was simply to produce great pinot noir and we have stayed focused on this outcome. An uncompromising search for the right land led us to where we have now planted vines in Alexandra.
Cool climates produce the most exciting Pinot Noir and Central Otago has proved to be one of the few places in the world that can consistently produce some of the finest examples of wine from this difficult grape.
Central Otago is itself made up of many sub-regions all characterised by their own mix of temperatures profiles, rainfall and soils. Some areas are hotter, some cooler and some wetter or dryer but generally all are free draining and mostly on soils derived from Schist (an ancient metamorphic rock).
The land we search for had to be in Central Otago and it had to be warm enough to consistently ripen Pinot Noir grapes. It had to be cool climate but not too cool. North facing slopes are the warmest sites within a cool climate. There needs to be tension between hot and cold so that Pinot Noir can show a true and exciting expression of the site.
Alexandra is the sub-region that excited us most and is where we established vines. Alexandra is the southern-most sub-region in Central Otago, which also makes it the southern-most Pinot Noir winegrowing sub-region in the world. Further south and further to the west away from the Southern Alps makes this the driest sub-region which is ideal for Pinot Noir, but does mean irrigation on our light soils is essential.
Alexandra is a large basin left after glaciers receded in the last Ice Age and its topography and location means it experiences both the hottest temperatures and coolest temperatures in Central Otago. These extreme temperature fluctuations are never more evident than during summer and autumn when grapes are ripening.
On the south side of the basin across the Clutha River from the of Alexandra township are some warm north facing slopes. Grasshopper Rock has been established on the lower slopes close to Alexandra. For facts and figures about the land see The Land.
The land we purchased was originally part of a larger parcel known since the 1860s as Como Villa. The land has a fascinating history that dates back to the 1860s gold rush and the early establishment of grape vines in the 1870s.
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