Description
About Lansdowne Wines
Lansdowne is family owned and run – We produce cool climate wines from our single vineyard sites in the Adelaide Hills. We focus on the relationship between soil and vine health and grape quality, to produce premium organic minimal intervention wines.
Lansdowne is our family home in the Adelaide Hills. Many years after the first grapes were grown we naturally progressed to making wines under our estate’s name. Early careers in traditional creative industries encouraged us to to approach wine differently. We were inspired to create wines that were refreshing for the eyes and palate. Today our focus is on vineyard sustainability, organics and a search for wines suited to Australian conditions.
Lansdowne vineyard is situated in the northern part of the Adelaide Hills, near Gumeracha and its famed rocking horse.
The first vines were planted by Mark Whisson in 1996. We farm 16 hectares of pinot noir, chardonnay, sauvignon blanc, pinot grigio and small parcels of cabernet sauvignon and syrah (shiraz).
The Adelaide Hills is a cool climate wine region. We have warm summer days followed by drops in temperature at night. This allows the vines to rest, stretching out the grape’s maturing process – which is key to creating flavour complexity. Lansdowne Vineyard is one of the slowest ripening sites in the Adelaide Hills. It sits at 350 meters in the Forreston Valley and has a Mediterranean climate with cold wet winters, warm dry summers and endless autumns.
The day-night temperature range is a result of early sunsets and cool air pooled in the valley at night – a combination key to creating flavour complexity by slowing down the ripening process.
Pinot noir was the first of the vines to be planted in 1996. We’ve been tending to the them since 2002 and are continuously working with new varieties, clones and practices to understand more about our terroir.
