Vineyards

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.

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

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.

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

Planted in 1978, 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.

With a western aspect, the sloping long rows of vines have plentiful sunlight and the terrior has proven to express the zesty characters of great Hunter Valley Semillon. We are anticipating some very exciting single vineyard releases from this site in the coming years.

The wine from this vineyard is our Latara Vineyard Semillon.

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

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.

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

This premium vineyard is an important part of our Hunter Valley Chardonnay, with 25 year old ‘P58’ clone vines delivering crisp, ripe fruit. Planted close to the base of the Brokenback range, this vineyard is sheltered from growing season rainfall and has well-draining alluvial soils. A newly grafted block of Roussanne will provide us with locally grown fruit for our ‘Epogee’ white blend from 2018 onwards.

The wine from this vineyard contributes towards our regional Hunter Valley Chardonnay, as well as the Winemaker’s Selection ‘Epogee’.

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

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.

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

Cathy Gairn first established this vineyard in 1993, first planting Pinot Noir before expanding to produce Pinot Meunier and Chardonnay grapes as well. This western-facing site on decomposed granite soils sits at the lofty altitude of 730 metres, creating one of Australia’s remarkable alpine vineyards. We have produced Tumbarumba Chardonnay since 2012, and in exceptional vintages we have produced Tumbarumba Pinot Noir.

The wines from this vineyard are the Gairn Vineyard Chardonnay and Gairn Vineyard Pinot Noir.

SOILDS: Red granite, white granite, shale

ALTITUDE: 750m

ASPECT: Western-facing hillside

ROW DIRECTION: East-West for Chardonnay, North-South for Pinot Noir

LATITUDE: 35°42’33.70” S

LONGITUDE: 148°42’33” E

CLIMATE: Cool/Alpine

GROWER: Cathy Gairn