The Mudgee G.I.C: Mudgee is one of the oldest wine regions in Australia . Vines were first planted over 150 years ago by German migrants fleeing religious persecution in Europe . The Roth family, who still live in the region, had 7 vineyards spread between sons and daughters during these early years. Fertile soils, warm climate and the water of the Cudgegong River made Mudgee a prime agricultural area. The success of the wool, meat and wheat industries around Mudgee (all exporting lucratively to the UK ) in the latter decades of the 19 th century saw the land diverted from grapes and wine.

From the 1970s, Australian rural wealth was impacted by the loss of export preferences to the UK , declining value of the Australian dollar and the increase of tariff barriers in major export markets. Grapes became attractive again as a use for the land. From the 1980s a few hardy families set up vineyards and wineries, or resuscitated existing run-down operations (some dating back a long time). For many years, much of the Mudgee grape crop was used by wineries in the Hunter Valley and South Australia to boost their own products. Mudgee lacked the companies with the budgets and national structures to build strong brands which would make Mudgee famous in its own right again. Local wineries of high quality existed, but they were not widely known.

In recent years, major companies have moved into the Mudgee region, planting enormous acreages and building a "Mudgee" profile for wines. Mudgee is especially known for its big red wines. The conditions which first attracted grape growers to Mudgee over 150 years ago remain as attractive as ever.

Rylstone: The Rylstone area was settled shortly after Mudgee, around the late 1820s. This was shortly after the belated finding of a route through the Blue Mountains in 1813, opening up the western plains to settlement. Both towns are located on the Cudgegong River , with Rylstone about 50 kilometres upstream. Situated about 200 metres higher than Mudgee, and surrounded by hills, Rylstone has its own microclimate. The surrounding area is fine agricultural country, interspersed with mineral wealth. The town has been the centre of fine low-micron wool production. The rocky terrain is a creation of a significant geological fault line nearby. One of the local mining activities is quarrying for limestone, which is the basis for a thriving cement industry.

Woodlawn: Our vineyard is located on "Woodlawn", one of the original properties west of the Blue Mountains . The rocky terrain and presence of limestone produces soil well-suited to production of quality grapes.

"Woodlawn" has an extensive history as a producer of fine low-micron wool, a famous horse stud (with a Melbourne Cup winner reputedly buried on the property), a market garden, a cattle stud and now a vineyard.

The property is bounded on two sides by the Cudgegong River , which provides irrigation for the vineyard - and a habitat for fish, water birds and platypuses. The nearby Capertee Valley is one of the great products of the glacier period, with stunning rock faces as a backdrop to any picture.

Beaurepaire Ridge Vineyard: The vineyard location was recommended by the main Mudgee viticulturist of the time as the best place to grow grapes. He believed that the cool-climate conditions and the soil types would eventually make Rylstone the premium sector of the Mudgee region.

The Vineyard is located 570 - 600 metres above sea-level. The slopes are gentle, the nights cool, the days warm and the soils rocky.

About 55 hectares of our 200 hectare property are planted with vines (about 550,000 square metres of vines on the 2,000,000 square metre property). The first section was planted in 1998, second section in 1999, third section in 2000 and the final section was planted in 2003).

The grape varieties are split as follows:

• Shiraz (Syrah): 11.8 hectares
• Merlot: 9.78 hectares
• Cabernet-Sauvignon: 7.74 hectares
• Petit Verdot: 2.76 hectares
• Semillon: 6.32 hectares
• Chardonnay: 9.95 hectares
• Viognier: 2.3 hectares
• Verdehlo: 2.0 hectares

We originally planted Pinot Noir, but the climate was not cold enough to produce great Pinot Noir grapes.

Computer-controlled drip irrigation is sourced from the Cudgegong River . Irrigation levels are carefully regulated via capacitance probes across the vineyard.

The viticulturist, vineyard manager and winemaker work closely together, especially regarding all activities in the specially selected vineyard blocks for our own wines.

We decided early on that we needed winemakers of great experience and capability to consistently produce the quality red and white wines we desired. Such winemakers are not available for businesses of our size. The solution was to seek specialist independent winemakers who shared our quality objectives. Fortuitously, David Lowe and Jane Wilson were re-locating back to Mudgee from their Hunter River base to David’s long-standing roots in Mudgee. Their new winery coincided with our interest.

David Lowe is one of Australia’s leading winemakers. During Len Evans’ reign as chairman of Rothbury Estate in the 1980s and early 1990s, David was Len’s chief winemaker and viticulturist. Len was and is the doyen of Australian wine – an incredible mentor and demanding boss. Len mentored David’s development, including sending him to France for a number of vintages to absorb French winemaking philosophies and techniques. David’s winemaking skills reflect the length and depth of his experience, allied to his experience with wines of structure and finesse from Bordeaux. His partner, Jane Wilson, is a Scottish veterinarian who came to Australia in the early 1990s. She has worked closely as a winemaker with David for nearly 15 years, both in Australia and in France.

We were seeking a winemaker with an interest in well-structured, elegant wines, pitched between traditional Australian and French styles. We wanted someone who could produce wines from cool-climate grapes and capture the regionality of the Rylstone district. David quickly recognised the Rylstone district as producing grapes with exceptional characteristics. Our Semillon grapes are similar to those David worked with in the Graves district in Bordeaux , France. The match between David Lowe/JaneWilson and our grapes is exciting.

The wines reflect the symbiosis. Each year we pursue improvements in both grapes and wine-making, based on learning from the previous year. David’s experience as both winemaker and viticulturist is invaluable in nominating specific actions or approaches in the vineyard likely to improve the wine. Trials of new winemaking techniques with both Chardonnay and Cabernet-Sauvignon have produced exciting quality improvements.