Winery & Vintage Info
Gordon and Heather Knight established Granite Hills in 1970, one of the seminal vineyards in the Macedon Ranges at the time. To say they were pioneers is no hyperbole. Granite Hills boasts one of Australia’s highest and most picturesque sites – the 12-hectare vineyard is perched high atop the North-east facing part of Victoria’s Great Dividing Range, at 550-metres above sea level.
Their Rieslings have amassed hundreds of accolades for their superb quality and amazing ageing potential. This explains Granite Hills’ timelessness and relevance. Today, their son Llew carries on the family tradition of crafting distinctive award-winning cool-climate wines from a site that has at once been mystifying and challenging to work over the years.
While Riesling rules here, it’s the broad range of aspects this site offers that gives Llew the chance to grow an extensive range of varieties – noble French ones thrive here, along with more recent additions, like Pinot Blanc, Grüner Veltliner and Gamay. The wind-shielded north-northwest sites home the red varieties, while the southern sites see the white varieties flourish. This truly idyllic location provides the best growing conditions, combined with old granitic sandy loam soils with good drainage, for the 50+ year-old vines (the oldest in the region!).
Of course, winemaking only aims to channel the fruit’s vitality, with gentle and slow handling to preserve its natural qualities, and through a traditional, fool-proof maturation process. These wines express the Macedon Ranges’ granitic influence through and through.
