Jean Francois may not have realised at the time that this parcel of land was located on one of two very narrow ‘cigar shaped’ strips of the prized PERMIAN period geological formation & stratum that exist in Tasmania. This is the same geological strata that is the foundation of many of the famed limestone based vineyards of his homeland’s Bourgogne (burgundy) where Pinot Noir and Chardonnay thrive and produce wines often lauded to rise from divine intervention.
Pinot Noir is currently 100% D5V12. We originally thought that some vines we purchased in 1985 were the clone MV6 but they were also D5V12! Chardonnay is I10V1 and Penfolds. The Riesling clone is unknown.
Trellising is a mixture of vertical shoot placement (VSP) and Carbonneau open lyre. Vine spacing in the VSP is 1.0 and 1.25 metres and row pacing is 1.5 metres. The open lyre spacing is 3.5 metres between rows and 1 metre between vines. Post angle is 22.5o.
Canopies are kept to a maximum thickness of 300 mm and bunch areas are progressively exposed at veraison. Cropping levels were hotly debated with Dr Richard Smart, the flying vine doctor. That resulted in a series of thinning trials being set up by Richard and me at Tamar Ridge vineyard to determine whether or not thinning has any effect on the levels of fruit ripening. The result surprised both of us, indicating that grapes ahead in ripening at veraison were not necessarily the ripest at vintage!
