The 40 hectare Greenstone Vineyard, 20 hectares of which are planted to vine, is situated north of the town of Heathcote at Colbinabbin, about 90 minutes north of Melbourne in Victoria.

Heathcote lies just north of the Great Dividing range in the Central Highlands region of Victoria at an altitude of around 400 metres. The region, while warmer and more continental than districts south of the Great Dividing Range, still enjoy some cooler temperatures due to the prevailing cool south to southeast winds that sweep over the Tooborac hills that stretch the whole length of the Mt Camel Range. These winds occur during the period from October to March, which coincides with the vines’ growing period.

The Greenstone Vineyard is on the ridge of old Cambrian soil that runs through the eastern side of the Camel ranges. The 500 million year old Cambrian soils are unique in Australia in that they are volcanic in origin yet contain high levels of calcium. They are low in vigour, so ideally suited to the production of quality wine.

The name ‘Greenstone’ comes from the greenish rocks that are so plentiful in the vineyard. The colour of these rocks is derived from oxidised iron. The high level of iron in the soil is responsible for the red earth for which Heathcote is famous. This soil, one of the oldest in Australia, is rich in calcium with a high pH (over 7), a combination that results in wines of great elegance.

Mark Walpole was first attracted to the red soil of Heathcote when, as a ten year old, he travelled with his family over the Camel ranges and was struck by the red wool on the sheep that grazed on the Cambrian soils. Years later, as chief viticulturalist for Brown Brothers, he was one of the first people to recognise the great potential that existed in Heathcote for quality red wine when he developed their Patricia vineyard, which is five kilometres north of the Greenstone site.

News flash!
2007 Greenstone Heathcote Sangiovese
"One is the best Sangiovese I’ve tasted from outside Tuscany. Fresh and complex with notes of cherry stone, tea leaf and raspberry." Tim Atkin, The Times June 2010

Robert Parker's The Wine Advocate
Lisa Perotti Brown
2007 Greenstone Vineyard Sangiovese 91 points 2006 Greenstone Vineyard Shiraz 90 points
2007 Greenstone Vineyard Shiraz 93 points

Read more press reviews here

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