GlenFion: Canyonleigh   N.S.W.

GlenFion is a family owned and operated vineyard at Canyonleigh on the western fringe of the Southern Highlands GI. A partnership between Laird, Jenny and Andy Stewart the philosophy behind the business is to create wines of distinctive regional character, utilising principles based on precision viticulture (new technology) and “tried and true “ practices from the old world.

The Vineyard is built on an old glacial site that has provided us with the ideal soil in which to grow Shiraz. The soil is a sandy loam interspersed with ancient riverstone with a depth ranging from 400mm to 600mm. Below this is active gravel clay. By dry growing the Shiraz vines they have penetrated through the loam and into the clay subsoil in order to find adequate water. This was aided by drought conditions that prevailed during the infancy of the vineyard. These conditions have provided us with strong active root growth in search for the available water supplied by the clay. The soil drains extremely well, but provides the vines with sufficient water to sustain growth throughout the growing season.

The vines are divided into two distinct blocks. No. 1 was planted in 2000 directly from cuttings sourced from the Grumblebone vineyard. No. 2 was planted in 2001 from rootlings. The two different clones will provide added complexity to our wines in the future.

All vines are hand pruned, picked and summer trimmed to provide an ideal canopy. Leaf plucking and green pruning is carried out throughout the year, depending on the vintage, to ensure an open bunch zone. Some bunch thinning is carried out to ensure that crop levels are maintained at optimum levels of between 3-4t/ha.

Fruit is delivered to the winery  at the end of each days picking where it is processed immediately. Gently crushed to retain many whole berries and fully destemmed, the fruit goes through extended maceration and fermentation. Pigeage is carried out by hand, avoiding the use of pumps wherever possible. Half of the wine is aged in two year old French oak using a mix of coopers to add further dimension to the wine. The other half is stored in stainless steel to retain fresh fruit characters. The wine is then matured in bottle for a minimum of 24 months prior to release to ensure integration and balance.

2008 Mongrol Block  100% Shiraz

Typical cool climate nose of white pepper, violet and blueberries. Very lifted and intense.

Generous palate that offers sweet plum and red berry fruits with a mineral/tapenade backbone.  Dried herb characters gives a savoury edge to the wine that compliments the fresh plumy red fruit. Stone/mineral acidity gives length and focus and is a feature of the unique riverstone terroir.