Winery & Vintage Info
Nestled perfectly on North facing slopes which run down to the Derwent River, the vineyard has a perfect aspect for the production of cool climate wine grapes. Prevailing Westerly winds keep good airflow through the vines and air circulation is critical in keeping the vineyard disease free. Here at Derwent Estate we do not use any Insecticides or nasty Pesticides at all. We prefer a softer Integrated Pest Management approach to disease control.
From humble beginnings in 1992 of one variety and block, stage 1 of our planting was increased to 4 varieties and over 4.5 hectares by 1997. As Derwent Estate and Grantons reputation grew for producing stunning fruit, keen interest was attracted by several major wine companies for us to grow small parcels of super premium fruit for them. This saw stage 2 of the vineyard development commence in 2003 as a 5.3 hectare planting which supplied grapes for the Bay of Fires Wines and the Penfolds Yattarna label. We currently have 10 hectares under vine which includes 5 different varieties.
Sourced from 3 Vineyards. Derwent Estate, one in the Coal River Valley and another 35-year-old dry grown vineyard in the Hillwood area. All 3 vineyards are managed with VSP trellising and the fruit is hand picked.
Picked at a point where the primary fruits were bright and fresh. We harvested in small batches with a different fermentation management program for each. By no means was this wine treated any less than our most expensive wines. Whole bunch, de-stemmed, pressed early, pressed late… Pinot Noir is about layers and we assist this by variation in our processes. All ferments were gently pressed into old oak barrels. After malolactic fermentation the wine underwent minimal finning with a small amount of Sulphur added prior to bottling.
