Great wine is made from great grapes. Or in other words, “you can’t make a silk purse out of a sow’s ear”. This underpins our wine making philosophy, great wine is made in the vineyard. No matter how clever a winemaker can be, he or she cannot produce great wine out of ordinary grapes. Great grapes cannot be mass produced, they require hands on devotion which can only be achieved in very limited quantities.
Our aim is to produce a special quality wine that is distinctive, unique, rich and luxurious. To achieve such quality, we decided to limit our vineyard size and the grape volume it could produce so that we can ensure that the high standards of production in both the vineyard and the winery are maintained through our direct involvement in all processes.
Expert advice indicated that Pinot Noir was an excellent choice for our land.
Nobody could have imagined what a great location this would be for creating great Pinot Noir when all around there were only hillsides being grazed by sheep and cattle. The conventional wisdom was dubious of planting grapes on clay soils and to plant on a hillside was considered too hard where terracing was required and care of the grapes is more demanding. People believed that quality grapes could only come from river gravels without the knowledge that some of the top quality, highly priced pinot noir wines from Burgundy are produced from clay based soils.
With a firm belief in our land, we planted our first pinot noir in 2008. Since then our insight has been rewarded with beautifully ripe grapes from the wonderful vintage of 2013, our very first, and continues to be confirmed with more quality vintages. We look forward to growing our reputation as the vines age and we build upon our knowledge and understanding gained from each different vintage as to how to create the best grapes and wine possible.
Pinot Noir has proven to be perfect for the site. Our terroir and commitment produce a rich, intense, masculine Pinot Noir with great body and structure, a wine to savour and with the longevity to cellar.
Our desire to produce top level wine founded on the substance of the product has prompted us to choose the ancient roman artefact, la bocca della verità, the mouth of truth, as our symbol.
It is a large circular piece of marble about 2 metres in diameter and 100 mm thick and was originally used in pre-Christian Rome as a means to extract the “truth”. The accused was required to place his hand in the mouth of the face while being questioned. If the powers that be decided the accused was guilty of the alleged wrong, the nod was given and the wretch lost his hand to a sharp blade behind the face. When it comes to wine, contrary to the circumstances where the powers that be dictated the truth, the truth is evident only to the drinker when the glass comes to the mouth, when the wine has been tasted. The symbol we have chosen serves to remind us of this.
Our vineyard sits in the hills of the northern end of Central Hawkes Bay. Being up in altitude with a more hilly terrain, it is significantly cooler than the Heretaunga plains of Hawkes Bay.
We’ve planted on a north west facing slope towards the bottom of a narrow valley. This contributes to grape quality but in the spring we often have to fight quite severe frosts. While in the summer we enjoy heat in the shelter of the valley, summer nights are generally cool. Pinot Noir likes the heat by day and the cool of the night.
Narrow rows running across the face of a hill have meant that most work is done by hand except for mowing and spraying by my custom built machine. Considerable terracing had to be dug in by hand. Every plant and every shoot gets a lot of individual attention in order to achieve the open canopy as seen on our home screen. From the removal of excess buds right at the start of the spring to the removal of sub-standard fruit at the end of the season, each plant would get at least a dozen personal visits.
To maximise flavour and texture, fruit production is strictly limited. Only one bunch per shoot is the rule, where excess bunches are removed as soon as possible after the fruit is formed. In some years, plant yield has been less than 500g per plant. No irrigation is applied. Fruit that shows any sign of defect or is slower to mature is removed. There is no production target. Only the best fruit is retained at harvest and only our own fruit is used in our wines.
Our methodology results in production yields quite similar to the Grand Crus of Burgundy. It is also interesting to note that many of the Grand Cru vineyards are tiny like ours.
Full Summer.
Deep Frost.
Autumn Mist.
Every year is going to be different. No matter what you do, you cannot escape or manipulate nature. Although the season will have a major influence on the nature of the wine, it will still be built on the foundation of the site: its soils, its aspect, its terroir. Underlying every vintage, the signature of our single vineyard from which all our grapes are sourced will be present, even though there will be variations from year to year. It is clear, however, that the quality of wine is determined by the quality of grape.
The process is kept simple, with the objective to extract the full potential of the grape.
Small batches, pre-fermentation soaking, hand plunging, post fermentation maceration and basket pressing by hand prepare the wine for maturation in oak. At the start, seasoned oak and new oak barrels were used. Since the 2018 vintage only seasoned oak barrels have been used given the realisation that our grapes produce copious structure without new oak. After about 9 months, the barrels are blended to achieve the best balance of flavour and structure. Clarification is achieved by racking. Fining, filtration and cold stabilisation are not employed. (There was one exception where the 2014 Pinot Noir was fined using egg whites.)
Our wine style is determinedly towards the camp of fully structured and richly flavoured wines that will be long lived and improve with age. The site terroir pushes us in this direction and our wine making tends to follow. It seems logical to produce the style that we personally prefer.
We are not organic or biodynamic but our practices reflect a firm conviction in sustainable production. As a small grower and producer our impact on the environment is negligible.
Our high standards and the hands on nature of our way of doing things are demanding. We certainly don’t have economies of scale but we do have the opportunity to optimise the qualities of each small batch. The reward is in the creation of a hand crafted wine that is unique and authentic.
Picking is thirsty work. Some of the picking gang relaxing after the 2013 pick.
At the Hawkes Bay Wine Celebration in Wellington 2018.
Enjoying our 2013 Pinot with MP Gareth Hughes
A seriously powerful Pinot with a well developed tannin structure, dark fruit and pronounced savoury notes. It has excellent cellaring potential, 10 years +. To drink now, best to decant for at least 2 hours to enjoy its good length, well balanced acidity, complexity and intensity.
Data:
Yield - 0.95 kg per plant
1727 bottles produced (750mls)
Brix – 24.9
pH – 3.49
TA – 7.65g/L
Price in New Zealand: $40.00 per bottle including GST in 12 bottle cases ($480 total). Shipping is free of charge.
Lauregan Wines is focussing on the export market, principally in Sydney. If you would like to purchase our product in New Zealand please contact us directly at mdold@laureganwines.co.nz
Purchasing in Australia
There are numerous retail outlets that sell our products in Sydney. Check the list below to find the most convenient for you.
| Name | Address | Phone |
|---|---|---|
| Balmain Wine Shop | 292 Darling Street, Balmain, 2041 | 9810 1331 |
| Bilgola Cellars | 8/1 Bilambee Road, Bilgola Plateau, 2107 | 9918 9169 |
| Bondi Beach Cellars | 50 Hall Street, Bondi Beach, 2026 | 9365 3889 |
| Cabarita Cellars | 24 Cabarita Road, Concord, 2137 | 9166 7616 |
| Camperdown Cellars Bronte | 120-128 Macpherson Street, Bronte, 2024 | 9389 2940 |
| Camperdown Cellars Darlinghurst | 233 Victoria Street, Darlinghurst, 2010 | 9380 6133 |
| Camperdown Cellars Kingston Road | 21 Kingston Road, Camperdown, 2050 | 9519 3341 |
| Chambers Cellars Avalon | 35 Avalon Parade, Avalon, 2107 | 9918 3207 |
| Chambers Cellars Concord | 64 Majors Bay Road, Concord, 2137 | 8765 1682 |
| Chambers Cellars Greenwich | 91 Greenwich Road , Greenwich, 2065 | 9460 8468 |
| Chambers Cellars Randwick | 99 Frenchmans Road, Randwick, 2031 | 9314 6555 |
| Chambers Cellars Spit Junction | Shop 13, Bridgepoint Shopping Centre, 1-3 Brady Street, Mosman 2088 | 9968 3944 |
| Chambers Cellars Tramsheds | T2/1A The Crescent, Forest Lodge, 2037 | 9188 4385 |
| Commodore Hotel Bottle Shop (Fleet St) | 206 Blues Point Road, McMahon's Point, 2060 | 9922 4331 |
| Corkscrew Cellars Rose Bay | 93 O'Sullivan Road, Rose Bay, 2029 | 9327 4027 |
| Corkscrew Cellars Vaucluse | 659 Old South Head Road, Vaucluse 2029 | 9371 6274 |
| David's Cellars Taylor Street | 36 Taylor Street, Annandale, 2038 | 8095 8393 |
| David's Cellars Unwins Bridge | 292 Unwins Bridge Road, Sydenham, 2044 | 8065 4133 |
| Little Bottler Mona Vale (Fleet Street) | 1755 Pittwater Road, Mona Vale, 2103 | 9999 3055 |
| M. S. Cellars | 150 Longueville Road, Lane Cove, 2066 | 468 413 964 |
| Mishas Fine Wines | 237 Oxford Street, Darlinghurst, 2010 | 9331 3064 |
| Pittwater Cellars (Fleet Street) | 1755 Pittwater Road, Mona Vale, 2103 | 9999 3055 |
| Platinum Liquor Bellevue Hill | 25A Bellevue Road, Bellevue Hill, 2023 | 9389 3875 |
| Potts Point Liquor & Deli | 91 MacLeay Street, Potts Point, 2011 | 9358 3155 |
| Red Bottle Circular Quay | 42 Pitt Street, Circular Quay, 2000 | 9247 2755 |
| Red Bottle Elizabeth St | 181 Elizabeth Street, Sydney, 2000 | 9261 2315 |
| Red Bottle Pitt St | 343 Pitt Street, Sydney, 2000 | 9267 7431 |
| Red Bottle Surry Hills | 310 Elizabeth Street, Surry Hills, 2010 | 8412 0795 |
| Red Bottle Redfern | 7, Level 2/9 Gibbons Street, Redfern, 2016 | 8076 4911 |
| Roma Vino | 3/30 Roma Street, North Epping, 2121 | 8385 8649 |
| Supercellars Kingston, Churchills Bar | 532 Anzac Parade, Kingsford, 2032 | 9663 3648 |
| The Mowbray Road Cellars | 703 Mowbray Road, Lane Cove, 2066 | 9420 8182 |
| Woollahra Hotel Bottle Shop | 116 Queen Street, Woollahra, 2025 | 9327 9715 |
Off Licence Number – 31/OFF/001/2023, expiry – 13/2/2026, Licensee – Lauregan Properties Limited, view Licence
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