Its easy to say that that untamed piece of hilly farm land in Marlborough stole our hearts – it was the inspiration for our label and now bears the name Loveblock.
If we were to explore our love of New Zealand renowned Pinot Noir, we knew we’d have to venture to Central Otago – there we settled on Bendigo; an arid environment, harsh living, long dry summers, snowy winters – not so good for humans, perfect for Pinot Noir.
Loveblock Farm is our anchor vineyard, the one that stole our hearts.
It has two distinct lots: the Hillside and Woolshed.
The Harsh Terroir of the Hillside Lot – perfect for premium aromatic white varietals
This 180 acre (72 hectare) vineyard is perched on top of the hills overlooking the Awatere Valley, where we succumbed to the view.
We bought a bare paddock and after some earth works the land
lay dormant for three years.
The Hillside is ideal for three reasons:
The soil has high levels of clay providing greater moisture retention which is essential in the harsh natural environment of this vineyard. So the overall terroir (pronounced teuh waa – the characteristic taste and flavour imparted to a wine by the environment in which it is produced) is perfect for growing premium aromatic white varietals.
Due to the strong winds, the vine growth is slow and we tend to get very small berries producing intense aromatic concentration in the wine. On the main Hillside Farm vineyard area we’ll grow predominantly Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Gris vines. But here we also love to experiment with intriguing varietals likes Pinot Blanc, Tempranillo, Gewurztraminer, Chenin Blanc and of course, Riesling.
The Woolshed Lot at Loveblock sits at the bottom of the hill, tucked in next
to the old manor house. We’ve planted 27 acres of Sauvignon Blanc vines
and 4 acres of Pinot Gris here.
The soil is typical of “valleys” i.e. silt over stone, alluvial free-draining. It was planted
in 2003 and the conversion to organics was completed in 2012. Marlborough
is recognised as one of the premium wine regions of the world. Our sunny,
dry but relatively cool climate, makes the area ideal for producing top quality
wine with distinctive zesty fruit flavours; hence our focus on producing premium
Sauvignon Blanc wine.
Certified Organic:
BioGro New Zealand.
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