Vineyards

Our winery is located 25 miles south of Adelaide – in a distinct micro-climate north east of McLaren Vale in South Australia.

We source our 19 vineyards of fruit from three distinct and neighbouring regions: Clarendon, Blewitt Springs and Kangarilla. These districts are all within 8km of our winery, and have varied and distinct soils, sub-soil geological phenomena and aspect.

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About our Vineyards

  • Elevation

    Due to the elevation of our vineyard sites – some located up to 310m above sea level

    They have different qualities to the vineyards located in the flatlands of McLaren Vale.

  • Terroir

    The Kangarilla, Blewitt Springs and Clarendon regions all have contrasting soil types.

    Eroded sedimentary rock groups dominate the Blewitt Springs area – whereas Clarendon and Kangarilla have classic rock soils - with shale, sandstone, bluestone, ironstone and quartz which create varied site soils and unique flavours.

  • Climate

    The Southern Ocean, located 15 kilometres from the vineyards, provide a cooling afternoon sea-breeze– and the steep ascent/descent of the land encourages the cool air to move quickly through the canopies.

    This discourages frost and other threats – also substantially slowing the ripening process. This means our grapes typically have increased skin thickness and as a result. In conjunction with site elevation our harvest season usually occurs between 7 and 24 days later than in the lower plains of McLaren Vale.

  • Pre-phylloxera vines

    At Clarendon Hills, we use an original species of pre-phylloxera vines – which aren’t genetically modified.

    In fact, pre-phylloxera vines are the dinosaurs of viticulture. They they exhibit the entire wealth of their gene pool - unlike cloned varieties which have been pre-programmed to survive in cool regions, high salinity, arid conditions, or infected soils.  Cloned varieties are typically limited in their subsequent flavour expressions – whereas pre- phylloxera vines produce an expression that reflects the varied and syncopated climatic conditions of the areas in which they are grown.  They are also extremely sensitive to all conditions in every season, and they react in individual ways.

  • Vine intelligence

    Pre-phylloxera vines display an incredible forecasting ability by calculating the conditions and resources, and adjusting their behaviour accordingly.

    The resulting effect adjusts the exhibition of the vine - and consequentially, the grape physiology is altered. It’s the equivalent to putting on a jacket if it’s cold, taking an umbrella when it’s wet or packing shorts in summer.

    Recognising the tactical delegation of a vine allows outsiders to begin to understand the relevance a vine has to its home – its location, size, purpose, and neighbours. This affects how we care and maintain for our vineyards – and this, in turn, affects their health, use and sale ability.

  • Varietal Expressionist

    At Clarendon Hills, we refer to ourselves as varietal expressionists.

    By this, we mean that we respectfully identify the personality of our original sites – and standardise our approach to winemaking based on this. Our non-interventionalist philosophy yields an annual expression of each specific vineyard. Importantly, we believe in celebrating organic beauty. Just as expressionist Salvador Dali extracted ironies and post modernistic ideals, we aim to to display organic contrast and expand varietal impression and expectations while defying modernism.