• History
• Vineyard
• Tasting Notes & Photos

History & Ownership

The vineyard was originally planted in 1997/98 by David Lowe of Mudgee, an expert in his field. The different varietals were strategically planted on the terrain of the property to take full advantage of the different geographical aspects, e.g. Blocks 3 and 5 (Shiraz) were planted on the western facing slope to take advantage of the late afternoon filtered sunlight from the cloud cover drifting from the Barrington tops.

The vineyard has drip irrigation throughout, fed by our two extensive dams as well as our P.I.D. allocation from the Hunter River guarantees the vines are maintained throughout drought conditions.

The proprietors are Peter and Denise McKelvey, along with their son James McKelvey who manages the vineyard.

Vineyard

McKelvey Estate’s vineyard is centrally located in Pokolbin, having volcanic soils with limestone base with extensive plantings on western slopes. A total of 16.4 Hectares (41 Acres) of vines.

Varietals

Our blocks are laid out as follows:

Age of the Vineyards

• Blocks 1 – 6 established 1997
• Blocks 7 – 9 established 1998
• Block 10 established 2007

Trellis Style

V.S.P. (Vertical Shoot Positioning), shoots arising from a mid-height are trained vertically upwards between two pairs of movable foliage wires.

This type of system is advantageous for:

• Aeration
• Light penetration
• Disease resistantance
• Decreased wind damage

Vine Spacing

• Vines 1.5 metres
• Rows 3 metres

Soil Type/Topography Across the Vineyard

• Volcanic Soil
• Layer of limestone beneath soil
• Western slope

Images & Tasting Notes

	2008 Verdelho Tasting Notes: Made from 100% Verdelho grapes grown on our northern facing blocks, showing lovely varietal fruits coupled with infused herbaceous and spicy characters and a focused, lingering back palate. Ideal for young drinking with an array of foods or simply by itself. This wine is testament to verdelho’s soaring popularity in the Hunter Valley.
	2009 Semillon Tasting Notes: Made in traditional hunter valley style, this wine typifies the essence of semillon. Lovely lifted citrus and fresh herb aromas coupled with a tight, focused palate of minerals and delicate fruits. Drinking beautifully young whilst fresh and zesty or will develop into a classic hunter of honey and toasty overtones with extended bottle age.
	2008 Chardonnay Tasting Notes: Made from 100% chardonnay grown on our lower block. Hunter Valley Chardonnay is famous for its fresh, ripe, fig, melon and tropical fruit characters with a lean complexity of subtle oak overtones. This wine has it all. Beautiful drinking whilst young but future cellaring will pay handsomely.
	2008 Shiraz Tasting Notes: Made from 100% shiraz grapes grown on our famous western facing slopes. An uncharacteristically cool summer offered us the opportunity to make an ‘old hunter burgundy’ style which is slighty softer in stature yet beautifully balanced with generous upfront fruit and lovely savoury characters and fine tanin structure. Best drinking now to 2011. All class!