The Vineyard
Rising Vineyard is nestled in a valley on the outskirts of the beautiful township of St Andrews - set among unspoilt bushland and rolling hills in the Nillumbik Shire. This subregion is like no other. Nillumbik is derived from the Wurundjeri term for the area nyilumbik, which literally translates to dumb or bad earth, and our terroir is unique to the rest of the Yarra Valley.
At 245m above sea level at its highest elevation, the vineyard gently rises and reaches out of the valley on its east, west, north and south-facing slopes. Here the region’s stars, Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, prevail. Small parcels of Shiraz, Semillon, Gewurztraminer, Riesling, Savagnin and Sauvignon Blanc persist from original plantings in 1984.
The Rising Vineyard’s soils are derived from ancient marine sediments deposited on the ocean floor between 440 and 385 million years ago (Silurian to Early Devonian). These alternating sand and mudstone beds (turbidites) were then compressed, gently folded and uplifted by the Tabberabberan Orogeny— a mountain-building episode about 380 million years ago. The resulting proto schists were eroded and dissected over time to produce the topography and low fertility soils at our site.
The weathering of this ancient basement has resulted in a thin veneer of skeletal duplex soils. A high proportion of bedrock fragments ensure excellent texture. A small proportion of clay provides just enough water holding capacity, and the sheer enormity of time has leached the soils of nutrients, so fertility is low, and vine vigour is constrained.
The variety of slopes and aspects on the Rising Vineyard give a natural distribution of lighter loamy soils on the crests, and slightly heavier, more clay-rich soils accumulate on the mid to lower slopes. Having planted our Pinot Noir and Chardonnay clones across these varying soil profiles, each vintage we are presented with distinct parcels with very different characters which, when blended, deliver an inherent complexity to all of our wines. So, as it turns out, this patch of bad earth is perfect for growing grapevines.
Block Varietals & Clones
- Caledonia North
Pinot Noir 667 & MV6 - Caledonia South
Chardonnay I10V1 - Caledonia South
Pinot Noir MV6 - Caledonia South
Pinot Noir D2V6 - Birdwood
Chardonnay P58 - Birdwood
Chardonnay B95 - Birdwood
Chardonnay Mendoza - Future planting
of Pinot Noir - Kylie’s Block
Semillion
- Kylie’s Block
Chardonnnay P58 - Bibs
Chardonnay B76 - Bibs
Chardonnay I10V1 - Savagnin
- House
Chardonnay P58 - Block 415
Future planting of Gamay - Block 425
Pinot Noir 114 & 115 - Hill
Pinot Noir MV6 - No 1 Chardonnay B95
- Block 425
Shiraz PT23 - Riesling
- Gewürztraminer
