“As a monument to pioneering enterprise and early viticulture there is nothing more interesting in this State than the Clarendon Vineyard."
The Adelaide Advertiser, 1907.
Pictured: The Clarendon Vineyard Estate (1873)
“As a monument to pioneering enterprise and early viticulture there is nothing more interesting in this State than the Clarendon Vineyard."
The Adelaide Advertiser, 1907.
Pictured: The Clarendon Vineyard Estate (1873)
THE CLARENDON VINEYARD ESTATE
By purchasing the 50-acre property, Emmanuelle and Toby Bekkers accepted custodianship of the once famous Peake / Gillard Clarendon Vineyard Estate site in 2020.
The Clarendon Vineyard Estate was first planted between 1842 and 1848. The extremely steep hillside dominates the township of Clarendon, situated in the coolest, elevated, north-east corner of the McLaren Vale wine region.
“As the culture of the vine might be profitable to my South Australian tenantry… it will be desirable that there should be some hill of a suitable soil for its profitable growth on the estate.”
~ William Leigh in a letter to his agent John Morphett (1839)
The estate grew to over 60 acres under the stewardship of Edward John Peake between 1853 and 1882. His efforts in transforming the incredibly steep hillside were widely acclaimed throughout the young colony of South Australia:
“[Mr. Peake's vineyard] towers high above the surrounding objects, and appears, as it truly is, a gigantic pyramid of verdure. Its slopes and summits are clothed with luxuriant vines, and their dense and verdant foliage is unbroken by one barren spot, and unvaried by one foreign plant.”
~ Ebenezer Ward, 1862.
Following Peake’s death in 1876 and after a period of mismanagement, Joseph Gillard Snr. purchased the estate (1882) and set about restoring the neglected vineyard. Wine was produced on the Estate and mostly sold to Penfold’s. The property remained in the Gillard family until the 1930’s when much of the vineyard was removed and replaced with orchards.
The hillside was again replanted with vines in the 1990s and although they had been abandoned and unpruned for seven years these vines were still in existence on the property in 2020. The property was, however, a sleeping beauty- the steepest of slopes, 7 years unpruned, terraced, infested with blackberries and inaccessible to normal machinery (as a result of high-density planting).
It took an experienced eye and a healthy dose of tenacity to resurrect the vineyard.
After retraining, grafting and some new plantings, the property will be bearing fruit for the 2022 vintage. Grenache, Shiraz, Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc will be grown.
“Although not widely planted, Clarendon is emerging as the standout terroir for McLaren Vale fine wine. We’ve long worked with Clarendon fruit and it fits our polished style of wine so well. We are eager to see what this celebrated old hill can provide, given some love and attention”
