Vineyards
“The best wines begin with the best fruit.
We grow and source fruit from outstanding Hunter Valley and New South Wales vineyard sites.”
Keith Tulloch Estate Vineyard
“An ‘A team’ Hunter semillon vineyard in the hands of one of its most intellectual makers”
– Tyson Stelzer
We acquired this vineyard in 2008, seeing the potential of the soils and old vines to produce world class wines; Across the past decade, Keith and his father Dr. Harry Tulloch have overseen the revitalisation of one of the Hunter’s best Semillon vineyards.
Our vineyard estate and winery on Hermitage Road grows Semillon, Marsanne, Chardonnay and Shiraz, all planted in 1968 on the ancient floodplains of Rothbury Creek. Here, the winding creek beds provide the famous alluvial sandy soils of Pokolbin.
The wines from this vineyard include our Hunter Valley Semillon, Winemaker’s Selection Marsanne, as well as the Field of Mars Collection wines: Block 2a Semillon, Block 3B Semillon, Block 6 Chardonnay and Block 1 Shiraz.
We recognise that this vineyard is on the traditional lands of the Wonnarua people.
SOILS: Alluvial River Sand, Clay Loam
ALTITUDE: 67m to 73m
ASPECT: Flat, floodplain with South-facing gentle rise.
ROW DIRECTION: Predominantly East-West orientation, some blocks NE-SW
LATITUDE: 32°44’04” S
LONGITUDE: 151°15’44” E
CLIMATE: Mediterranean with coastal influences.
GROWER: Keith & Amanda Tulloch
McKelvey Vineyard, Pokolbin
This vineyard is owned by the McKelvey family, who grow Chardonnay and Shiraz for our regional blends and single vineyard releases.
Planted on a Western-facing hillside on Deasys Road, Pokolbin, the McKelvey Vineyard was established in 1997/1998 by the viticulturist and winemaker David Lowe. Significantly this vineyard is planted to high-quality vinestock, being the I10V5 Chardonnay clone and the SA1658 Shiraz clone. Of note, the SA1658 clone – which has delivered many of Australia’s great Shiraz’s wines – was identified and isolated originally by Dr Harry Tulloch, when he was a Viticultural Research Scientist for the Department of Agriculture in the 1960’s.
The wines from this vineyard include our McKelvey Vineyard Chardonnay and McKelvey Vineyard Shiraz, with some fruit parcels contributing towards our regional Chardonnay and Shiraz blends.
We recognise that this vineyard is on the traditional lands of the Wonnarua people.
SOILS: Rich red-brown Clay loam with underlying Limestone, Volcanic soil
ALTITUDE: 66m to 95m
ASPECT: Steeper hill, with Northerly and Westerly slope.
ROW DIRECTION: Around the hill, rows NE-SW to NW-SE
LATITUDE: 32°44’16.46” S
LONGITUDE: 151°18’36.84” E
CLIMATE: Mediterranean with coastal influences.
GROWER: McKelvey Family
Keith Tulloch ‘La Tara’ Vineyard, Pokolbin
Planted in 1978 on Deasys Road Pokolbin, this Semillon vineyard has consistently produced fruit of the very highest pedigree – this was behind our decision to purchase the vineyard immediately when it became available in early 2017. The first harvest after we purchased the property was the 2018 vintage, and since this year we have consistently produced a single vineyard wine from this site.
Oriented East-West on a gently sloping block, the long rows of vines have plentiful sunlight, whilst the volcanic clay and limestone soils have proven to express the zesty characters of great Hunter Valley Semillon.
The wine from this vineyard is our Latara Vineyard Semillon.
We recognise that this vineyard is on the traditional lands of the Wonnarua people.
SOILS: Red loamy clay, Limestone, Volcanic soil
ALTITUDE: 59m to 67m
ASPECT: Flat, with a Western-facing gentle rise.
ROW DIRECTION: All rows oriented East-West.
LATITUDE: 32°43’46.78” S
LONGITUDE: 151°18’55.37” E
CLIMATE: Mediterranean with coastal influences.
GROWER: Keith & Amanda Tulloch
Bainton Vineyard, Broke Fordwich
This vineyard is owned by Tony and Judy Bainton, who have grown fruit for KTW for almost twenty years, supplying fruit of exceptional pedigree for our limited release wines such as ‘The Kester’, ‘The Wife’ and ‘The Doctor’.
Some of the blocks were planted around 1923, 1942, and 1955, making this historic vineyard into a special old-vine site. This vineyard has special significance for our family; these low-yielding Shiraz vines in Broke Fordwich carry the legacy of our forefathers in the local region. The wine from this vineyard contributes towards our regional Shiraz blend, as well as ‘The Family Collection’ wines.
We recognise that this vineyard is on the traditional lands of the Wonnarua people.
SOILS: Deep Gravelly Sand
ALTITUDE: 74m to 102m
ASPECT: Alluvial gully at the base of a mountain, gradual fall to the South
ROW DIRECTION: Principally East – West, some North – South
LATITUDE: 32°42’36.77” S
LONGITUDE: 151°2’25.07” E
CLIMATE: Mediterranean and continental influences.
GROWER: Tony & Judy Bainton
Ewen Vineyard, Broke Fordwich
This vineyard is farmed by Stuart Ewen and is an important part of our Hunter Valley Chardonnay, with highly regarded ‘P58’ clone vines delivering crisp, ripe fruit. Planted close to the base of the Brokenback range in the Broke Fordwich subregion, this vineyard is sheltered from growing season rainfall and has well-draining alluvial soils. As well as Chardonnay, a recently grafted block of Roussanne provides us with locally grown fruit for our ‘MRV’ Hunter white blend from 2018. The wine from this vineyard contributes not only to our regional blends but also our Single Vineyard collection, with outstanding parcels selected for premium release.
We recognise that this vineyard is on the traditional lands of the Wonnarua people.
SOILS: Hunter Alluvial
ALTITUDE: 75m
ASPECT: Vineyard slopes gently, East-facing
ROW DIRECTION: North-South
LATITUDE: 32°43’41.12” S
LONGITUDE: 151°3’17.78” E
CLIMATE: Mediterranean and continental influences.
GROWER: Stewart Ewen
Eagles Rest Vineyard, Pokolbin
The Eagles Rest Vineyard is sited in central Pokolbin, nestled on the high slopes of the Pokolbin Mountain foothills. These vines were planted in the early 1970’s by Dr. Don Maxwell and over the years has developed a prized reputation for ultra-premium quality.
The vineyard is elevated 200m above the valley floor and enjoys the benefits of cooler sea-breeze air flow during Summer. It is also a protected site, close up under the shoulder of the Brokenback Mountain Range
Both Chardonnay and Shiraz are grown here and relish the in deep red volcanic-basalt soils. Rows are steeply terraced with Chardonnay facing the South, while the Shiraz faces North to North-West.
We recognise that this vineyard is on the traditional lands of the Wonnarua people.
‘HOME VINEYARD’
SOILS: Deep red volcanic-basalt soils
ALTITUDE: 200m at the top, down to 183m
ASPECT: Steeply terraced South facing
ROW DIRECTION: WNW to ESE
LATITUDE: 32° 48’ 09.71”S
LONGITUDE: 151° 15’ 39.60”E
CLIMATE: Coastal influences.
GROWER: Michael Hill
Tawarri Vineyard, Merriwa
The Tawarri Vineyard near Merriwa is one of the most unique vineyard sites in the Hunter region, only 10km from the top of the ranges 27km North-Northeast of Merriwa. This 25-year-old Shiraz vineyard produces fruit with ripe, black flavours of impressive density. We are the exclusive buyers from this vineyard and have produced a single vineyard wine from this fruit since the 2011 vintage. The wine from this vineyard is the Tawarri Vineyard Shiraz.
We recognise that this vineyard is on the traditional lands of the Wonnarua people.
SOILS: Rich basalt clays
ALTITUDE: 450m
ASPECT: Northwestern aspect with gentle slope, central gully
ROW DIRECTION: North-South
LATITUDE: 31°53’54.88” S
LONGITUDE: 150°26’46.09” E
CLIMATE: Temperate/Continental
GROWER: Kibble Family