Over the past decade or so the French word terroir has become embedded in the New World winegrowers' lexicon. Terroir has no equivalent word in English but the essence of its meaning is to embrace all the influences that contribute to the growth of the vine: soil composition, topography, aspect of the vineyard, climate, prevailing winds and a whole host of other factors that make a vineyard unique. The French wine producers have always argued that all great vineyards and wine-growing regions have a unique terroir, and that this uniqueness, is expressed in the distinctive flavour and structure of their wines.

Based on the success demonstrated by the rapidly increasing number of vineyards in the area, the Leongatha region has shown that it enjoys the terroir essential to produce great pinot noir and chardonnay wines that express the great length and complexity of Burgundy. The unique terroir of the Leongatha region clearly expresses itself in the wines from the region.

The Company’s three vineyard sites, all in the Leongatha region, were selected to an exacting criteria - red, free draining, high ironstone soils with ironstone pebbling through the soil, on a marl or limestone base, east to north-east facing. They are fabulous vineyard sites. The Company is truly fortunate to have been able to acquire such sites in the Leongatha area and plant them to Pinot Noir and Chardonnay to produce the fruit for premium and super premium wines.

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