The Vines;
Pinot Noir
There is a mixture of clones planted, all Pinot Fin, the noblest of the sub-varieties or cultivars of Pinot Noir. The oldest part of the vineyard is MV6, a terrific clone. I love MV6, it grows small bunches with thicker skins and produces wines with great structure and intensity of flavour. There are also some older vines which appear to be Morillon, a Swiss clone which produces large bunches and large berries. It is most certainly not a noble cultivar and the wine is usually disposed of in bulk. The Morillon is set down to be grafted over at some time, probably to 777, Abel, Pommard, Bests and, hopefully Calera. We have also produced some wonderful sparkling base from the Morillon. Perhaps there’ll be a Pinot Sauvage in a few years.
There are also plantings of Gm 18, Beba, Martini, 115, 777, Abel, Pommard and “Bests”. Beba is usually good, providing good cherry fruit and lifted aromatics. Martini has good deep colour and fleshy fruit. The Gm 18 has terrific sour cherry/red currant fruitiness and is very late ripening, holding it’s acidity well and not prone to building sugar before flavour. 115 does not seem to be suitable for this region, it produces fruity wines without great structure and is prone to put on sugar too rapidly in comparison to its flavour ripeness. 777 is a low vigour clone with nice small berries and thick skins. It has classic Morello Cherry flavour and provides structure. The Abel vines are young and this fruit has not yet been fermented separately. I feel very optimistic about Abel. “Pommard” is a very good clone and provides complex flavours but can be a bit “muddy” if allowed to become over-ripe. The “Bests” clone comes from amongst the old Pinot Meunier vines at Great Western. It has not been fermented separately at Holly’s Garden but has been a valuable component in the Moondarra Pinot Noirs.
I am experimenting with non-clonal, sexually reproduced Pinot Noir at Moondarra. I envisage cuttings from these will one day be grafted into the Holly’s Garden Vineyard. Growing Pinot Noir from seed was inspired by Bailey Carrodus and early results give cause for some optimism. Pinot Noir is indigenous to Burgundy and as late as the early 1900’s wild vines growing in the river valleys were marked and cuttings taken to replant vineyards. It is a common misconception that Pinot Noir mutates readily, this is a fallacy. The broad genetic diversity of Pinot Noir is due to cuttings being “harvested” from wild vines produced from seed. Holly’s Garden is in a phylloxera region so all vines here are grown on American rootstock.
Pinot Gris
Pinot Gris is even more fussy about where it is grown than Pinot Noir, widely regarded as one of the most fickle varieties to grow. When grown in an unsuitable, warmer site it loses acidity well before it has developed sufficient flavour or sugar. The resultant wines are lean and hard. The fruit hasn’t had the necessary “hang-time” to develop flavour and is often hard due to added tartaric acid.
The “Terroir” of the Holly’s Garden vineyard allows our Pinot Gris to slowly ripen, building flavour with time, yet retain bright fresh acidity. This produces Pinot Gris with richness but also balance.
Mendoza/GinGin
A small planting of Mendoza or GinGin cultivar of Chardonnay is planned for 2010. It is not known yet if this will be bottled on its own or blended with some Pinot Gris to produce a “Beurot” style full bodied dry white.
The Viticulture;
Bio Dynamics
Some Biodynamic viticulture is practiced, not for altruistic reasons, but to make better wine by growing better grapes. There is a lot of mystique and misunderstanding about Bio Dynamics if you want to know more it’s worthwhile visiting some good sites; http://www.biodynamicviticulture.com/ is one.
I came to Bio Dynamics through discovering that DRC, Domaine Leroy and Domaine Leflaive had been using these techniques for many years http://www.leflaive.fr/fr/ http://www.domaineleroy.com/ . I then began reading about Bio Dynamics and much of what I read reminded me of the agriculture practiced by my uncle in Gippsland. After talking to him, I discovered that he knew nothing of Bio Dynamics but had learnt his practices from his father, my grandfather. Farming by the cycles of the planets and the moon and using various tinctures derived from nature. My uncle explained that these practices were not to be spoken of and this knowledge had long been regarded as “witchcraft”, passed from father to son over many generations since the reformation of the church in Middle Europe. To me it is as much Pagan Viticulture as Bio Dynamic Viticulture and is an inherited, instinctive understanding. A part of my heritage.
Vines are planted in rows 2 meters apart, with 1.5 meters between vines. Vines are cane pruned and vertically shoot positioned. Vines are not irrigated however some irrigation is used through the establishment phase. Harvest is typically in mid to late April for both Pinot Noir and Pinot Gris.
Terroir
- Continental situation. Burgundy is not a bad model for Pinot Noir, and Alsace for Pinot Gris. Being in a continental location gives cool evenings, even in the height of summer, this allows the vines to “rest” at night and delays the accumulation of sugar whilst retaining acidity and building flavour. This extra ‘hang time’ due to delayed ripening is vital to the production of great wine. A feature of both Holly’s Garden Pinot Noir and Holly’s Garden Pinot Gris is their structure and length on the palette.
- High Altitude. At 750 to 850 meters altitude Whitlands is significantly cooler than the nearby Alpine Valleys, allowing us to grow early ripening varieties like Pinot Gris and Pinot Noir yet harvest in mid to late April with significant accumulation of flavour and retention of acidity. The air movement at night due to the steep slopes down to the nearby valleys also helps frost proof Holly’s Garden.
- Deep volcanic, basalt soils. Both the physical structure of the soil and its mineral composition contribute to how the vine grows and the flavours of the fruit and resulting wine. The deep, open structure of the soil draw the roots down deep into the soil, especially when combined with our philosophy of non- irrigation. By restricting access to water we devigorate the vine, the effects of this are twofold. Firstly the canopy is less dense, allowing penetration of light right through – this in turn helps with prevention of disease AND flavour development of the fruit. Shaded fruit produces astringent, green tannins, fruit that has been exposed to sunlight has softer, riper tannins and thicker skins. Secondly, mild water stress “switches on” the reproductive hormones of the vine, rather than the “green growth” hormones. The result is that the vine concentrates its energy toward ripening fruit rather than growing more leaves.
The mineral composition affects the flavour of the wine due to the dissolved minerals in the water the vine uses. Our volcanic, basalt soil is high in iron. Wines from these sorts of soils typically have a ferrous, robust mineral character. This is most certainly seen at the end of the palate in Holly’s Garden Pinot Noir, giving the wine length and balance. In Holly’s Garden Pinot Gris it balances the richness of the mid palette, with the phenolics and acidity.
- North East aspect. The Holly’s Garden site faces the North East. The Easterly morning sun helps burn the dew from the leaves and fruit, lessening disease pressure The Northerly aspect means the vines are always looking toward the sun, much the same as a sleeping cat always finds a spot in the sun and out of the wind. The coolest winds here are from the South and the West, Holly’s Garden is sheltered away from these angry winds. Our little amphitheatre is the warmest site in a very cool area.
