The Aberfeldy

The Aberfeldy, established in 1904, is a 3.5 acre vineyard owned by Jim McDowell and Ann Brown used for the Aberfeldy Shiraz. Find out more

Ladera

Ladera, established in 2004, is a 27 acre vineyard owned by Tim Adams and Pam Goldsack used for Pinot Gris and Reserve Tempranillo.

Mahons

Mahons, established in the 1960s, is a 7 acre vineyard owned by Fergus Mahon used for The Fergus, Riesling and Shiraz.

Cherax Hill

Cherax Hill, established in 1998, is a 20 acre vineyard owned by Paul and Mel Jenner used for Riesling, Cabernet, The Fergus and Shiraz.

 

Fairfield

Fairfield, established in 1996, is an 11 acre vineyard owned by Grant Crawley and partners. Used for Semillon and Cabernet.

Sheoaks

Sheoaks, established in 1961 is a 50 acre vineyard owned by Grant Crawley, Tim Adams and Pam Goldsack. Used for Riesling, Semillon, Pinot Gris and Shiraz.

Emu Rock Grove

Emu Rock Grove, established in 2003, is a 12 acre vineyard owned by Peter Clark, used for Riesling, Shiraz and Reserve Tempranillo.

St Clare

St Clare, established in 1997, is an 83 acre vineyard owned by Justin and Julie Ardill, used for Riesling, Shiraz, Cabernet and The Fergus.

 

Irelands

Irelands, established in 2000, is a 31 acre vineyard owned by Tim Adams and Pam Goldsock, used for Riesling, Shiraz and The Fergus.

Bayes

Bayes, established in 1997, is a 20 acre vineyard owned by Tim Adams and Pam Goldsock, used for Riesling and Shiraz.

Smiths

Smiths, established in 1980, is a 0.5 acre vineyard owned by Ian and Judy Smith, used for Semillon.

Rogers Vineyard

Established from 1979 and purchased by Tim and Pam in July 2009. The 141 acre vineyard is used for Riesling, Semillon, Chardonnay, Cabernet, Shiraz, and Malbec.

The Aberfeldy

We regard it as our greatest winemaking privilege to have regular, long-term access to this unique vineyard which so succinctly encapsulates and concentrates everything that's good about Clare Valley shiraz.

The Aberfeldy Vineyard was established in 1904 by the Birks family, of Wendouree fame, about five kilometres south-east of Clare township on a site nestled at the bottom of the easternmost hills of the Clare Valley.

Many of the shiraz vines planted by A.P. Birks and his brother William are still bearing fruit and it's those gnarled centurions that give our Aberfeldy Shiraz its enormous depth and strength of flavour.

We were lucky, really, to get our hands on the fruit. In the mid-1980s there wasn't much demand for shiraz grapes and when we approached the owner, Claude Nicholas, he waved a copy of The Bible above his head and declared 'God has sent you to buy our fruit'. From that day on, we've always referred to him as 'Praise the Lord Claude'.

We ended up buying the 1985 Aberfeldy Vineyard harvest for $280 a tonne and did the same in 1986 and '87.

When the current owners bought the property in 1987, we approached them to see if we could secure the fruit on a long-term basis. They agreed, and the security of the arrangement gave us the confidence to create The Aberfeldy label and use it as our flagship wine. Jim McDowell and his partner Anne continue to provide us with exceptional fruit from this outstanding vineyard.

The Aberfeldy Vineyard, which was expanded by another acre of shiraz in the late '80s and early '90s, is text-book red-grape terroir.

At more than 400 metres, it's quite elevated and the fruit is inevitably among the latest to ripen, which is what gives the wines real elegance as well as power.

The soil is classic – red loam over limestone subsoil – though it varies quite markedly in depth. There are pockets in the bottom of the valley where topsoil has accumulated due to run-off from the hills and is so deep that the vines have had to be retrellised and retrained to keep them sufficiently above ground.