Dalwhinnie Vineyard

In the vineyard  by David Jones | June 07, 2015

Pruning is well under way with the first five acres of Chardonnay and an acre of Cabernet Sauvignon completed.  The cover crops are pushing through which is creating a lovely contrast to the dark earth. Mushrooms are in abundance keeping the pruners content at breakfast time.  We've had good rain - up to 7 inches.

Looking at sourcing new clones to plant a new 4 acre Chardonnay vineyard, hopefully in 2016.

Dalwhinnie is one of Victoria’s oldest, family-run vineyards that has built an outstanding reputation for its super-premium shiraz, cabernet sauvignon and chardonnay wines. Hailed by critics and wine lovers alike, Dalwhinnie has been growing grapes for 37 years and is now a fully mature vineyard, producing wines that are distinctive, elegant and full of complex fruit flavours. 

A Ballarat architect, Ewan Jones, established the vineyard in 1976 and his eldest son, David, took over its management seven years later. Since 1994, David and his wife, Jenny, have owned and run the 16 hectare property. 

It's the kind of stability and continuity of ownership found in the greatest wine estates around the world.

Dalwhinnie occupies a unique position in the heart of the Pyrenees region of Western Victoria, near the village of Moonambel, where it exists as a natural amphitheatre nestled among the ranges.

But it is the hills and sedimentary soils of the Pyrenees – the terroir – which are a vital factor in the vineyard’s uniqueness, according to David Jones.

Noted wine writer and judge, Huon Hooke, agrees with him: “In Dalwhinnie, the Joneses have happened upon that rare but blessed confluence of factors: site, soil, climate, cultivars, viticultural practices and sensitive winemaking. Sit back and watch, as Dalwhinnie etches a name for itself, not only among the great wines of Australia, but the world.”

Dalwhinnie vineyard is situated in a unique amphitheatre that has its own meso climate. Surrounded and sheltered by the highest range – at 595 metres above sea level - this unique bowl of vines is a world unto itself, located in a naturally undulating trough which falls away from the hills.

The main grape varieties grown are Chardonnay, Shiraz and Cabernet Sauvignon. These small individual vineyards average around 1.8 hectares in size and because of the hungry sedimentary soils cropping levels are low, only 1.5 tonnes per 0.8 of a hectare. There are 16 hectares farmed at Dalwhinnie at present.

The vineyard is situated on the 37th parallel in the southern hemisphere and the poor and fragile soils from left over alluvial mining areas in the 1850's are some of the hardest and hungriest you will ever see.  However, the climate and soils seem well suited to the production of complex shiraz and this is why we specialise in this great variety.

The site is totally frost-free which enables the grapes to reach optimum ripeness and the vineyard is non-irrigated and operated on strong organic viticultural principles; the fruit is hand-picked, for example, and the vines are cane-pruned by hand. Harvest usually starts the third week in February and is completed around the first week in April. Cover crops are sown every year between the vineyard rows to add nitrogen to the soil. The average annual rainfall is 550mm with most rain falling between July and November.

"We are often asked why the wines from Dalwhinnie are consistently good.  An interesting question with a multitude of answers.  I will start with one simple answer - it is about the hungry sedimentary soils that keep the yields in check to produce high quality grapes that give the Dalwhinnie wines texture, complexity and most importantly, longevity.

The Pyrenees wine region is really quite unique, if you line up a dozen or more vintages of one variety, you will be rewarded with consistent wines that continually reflect the exceptional quality of the extremely low yielding unique vineyard site at Dalwhinnie. In other words, serious wine.

Come up and visit us, indulge in the vineyard walk and you will taste the difference."

David Jones

Vigneron

Dalwhinnie is located near the small village of Moonambel in the heart of the Pyrenees region of Western Victoria, Australia and is a super premium producer of Shiraz, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Chardonnay. After 37 years of growing grapes, the 16 hectare vineyard is now fully mature, producing true varietal fruit characters with great concentration of flavours.

At 595 metres above sea-level Dalwhinnie is the highest and most remote of the Pyrenees district vineyards. Surrounded and sheltered by the highest range, this unique bowl of vines is a world unto itself, located in a naturally undulating trough which falls away from the hills, forming an amphitheatre nestled into the ranges.