Our Clare Valley Vineyard
The Gaelic Cemetery Vineyard is located in the Clare Valley grape growing region, with the earliest block in the vineyard dating back to 1996.
The site was picked for it's excellent viticulture prospects. The vineyard is located on a parcel of land immediately adjacent to the historic Gaelic Cemetery approximately five kilometres due north of the Clare township – hence the name. The total area of approximately 32 hectares and established vineyards planted to 16.81 hectares.
Growing Region
Region: Clare Valley
The Clare Valley wine region is one of Australia's oldest wine regions, best known for Riesling wines. The climate features a warm to hot summer, but cooling afternoon breezes play a major role in slowing down the ripening process. Despite the warm climate it's capable of producing elegant cooler-climate styles. Some of Australia's finest Riesling is grown in the Clare Valley, and the region also produces many other wine styles, including Cabernet Sauvignon and Shiraz.
The Clare Valley Wine Region does not have any legally-defined subregions but is sometimes informally divided into five subregions named for the towns in those growing areas: Auburn, Clare, Polish Hill River, Sevenhill and Watervale.
Vineyard History
Shiraz and Riesling cuttings were sourced from the Pikes A10 and C2 blocks at Polish Hill River in 1995 and planted out in 1996 on some gently sloping, East facing land at White Hut tucked in behind the hills that overlook Stanley Flat. Subsequent smaller plantings of Cabernet Sauvignon and Malbec followed the initial vineyard development.
Over the first 10 years the crop level has averaged a tiny 1.9 tonnes/acre.
The Gaelic Cemetery Vineyard is always one of the earliest ripening Shiraz and Riesling vineyards in the Clare region and mystifyingly produces fruit with a pH/acid analysis that are usually exemplary. There is no issue in achieving full fruit maturity.
Vineyard Elevation / Altitude
400m above sea level (1,310 ft) which means cooler daytime and nighttime temperatures and vines and grapes protected from the hot afternoon.
Growing Soils
After a couple of early vintages from the very young vines, it soon became quite evident that the soils and aspect of the vineyard were ideally suited to the growing of extremely low vigour / low yielding vines, delivering fruit packed with concentrated flavor and firm textures.
Wines Produced
Pirathon offers four tiers of wine under the Gaelic Cemetery Vineyard brand. These wines are made in very small volumes and it's all about showcasing the very best about what we can do in the vineyard. The winemaking philosophy is all about showing the varietal expression and showcasing the vineyard.
- The Rieslings is all about the Care Valley characters of lovely citrus fruit, lemon lime and lively, lacy acid.
- The reds are medium body to medium full body with really good fruit definition, long fine tannins and a nice balance of fruit sweetness and savouriness which work really well with food.
For a full list of our wines check out what the Gaelic Cemetery Vineyard brand has to offer. The wines from Gaelic Cemetery Vineyard are packaged using fully recyclable materials including the bottles, corks, screwcaps and cartons that are used.
Viticulture
Our aim is to run the vineyard as sustainably as possible.
Minimal use of water for irrigation, under vine mulching to reduce weeds and moisture loss, mid row cover cropping to encourage microbial activity in the soils and using only organic based fungicides/pesticides are just some of the measures undertaken and all part of the mantra in the vineyard. All water used at the vineyard is sustainably sourced from an on site dam filled from surface water runoff, supplied generally at night by drip irrigation to minimise evaporation. Our canopies are moderate in size to allow for good air flow and minimize spraying.
