Clare Valley Archives - Young Gun of Wine

Castine-Morella Vineyard, Clare Valley

In Clare Valley’s subregion of Watervale, the Castine’s began planting grapevines in 1996 on their property which they had farmed for four generations. 37-hectares of vines are now spread across two distinct blocks on the vineyard, consisting of riesling, shiraz, cabernet sauvignon, and grenache. Today, the site is managed by Ben Castine and his wife Jess Smythe-Castine, with a firm focus on land ecology and fruit quality. An impressive lineup of top labels are benefactors of the Castine-Morella Vineyard fruit, such as Wines by KT, Vickery, O’Leary Walker, Tim Gramp, Dorien Estate Winery, Taylors, and Kenny Wines.

Artwine – Springfarm Vineyard, Clare Valley

Artwine’s Springfarm Vineyard in the Clare Valley is home to eight different varieties, with a distinct lean to emerging ones that have been chosen for their suitability to the changing climate. Owned for over two decades by Glen and Judy Kelly, the site complements their cooler Adelaide Hills vineyard, where their cellar door is situated. The Clare site contributes traditional varieties like grenache to the range, along with Mediterranean ones, like fiano, tempranillo, graciano and sangiovese, with new plantings yet to come online.

Grosset – Watervale, Clare Valley

Jeffrey Grosset started in the wine game young, with a bottle of riesling tasted at the family dinner table propelling him to study agriculture and oenology at the age of 16, graduating by the time he was 21. Establishing Grosset Wines in 1981, he has become one of Australia’s most lauded winemakers – with riesling a notable specialty – but the heart of the Grosset operation has always been in evolving the work in the vineyard to make vital, pure wine that is intensely expressive of site. His Watervale Vineyard is comprised of two sections planted to quite different soils, with both underpinned by certified biodynamic farming overseen by vineyard manager Matthew O’Rourke.

Adelina Vineyard, Clare Valley

The Adelina vineyard, in the Clare Valley, is an old one. The first shiraz vines were planted in the early 1900s and were supplemented with grenache sometime in the ’40s. When Col McBryde and Jennie Gardner took over the management of the site in 2002, their work was cut out for them. With rampant wild olive trees and weeds aplenty, they set about regenerating the landscape, working with organic methods for many years before finally seeking and achieving certification in 2020. Today, those old vines are in fine health, while further plantings have increased the vineyard size a little to now occupy six hectares.

Castine-Morella Vineyard, Clare Valley Ben Castine & Jess Smythe-Castine

Castine-Morella Vineyard, Clare Valley

Artwine – Springfarm Vineyard, Clare Valley

Grosset – Watervale, Clare Valley

Adelina Vineyard, Clare Valley

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