About Us
The Vineyard
Vineyards
We compare the warm elevated, continental climate of the Bickley Valley to inland areas of Spain and Portugal so it is natural that we look to these areas for inspiration when it came to selecting grape varieties to grow. These comparisons encouraged us to plant the varieties such as Verdelho, Mourvedre, Touriga, Brown Muscat and Durif alongside Shiraz, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Petit Verdot. We are also fortunate enough to work with a group of dedicated growers that provide us with great quality fruit.
In the vineyard we have never subscribed to a single philosophy, choosing rather to utilise techniques from organic, traditional and modern management programs based purely on the results they produce in our vineyards. For example, we rely on a flock of guinea fowl and geese to control pest insect populations rather than pesticides but are happy to utilise conventional herbicides to control problem weeds.
Winemaking
At various stages in our career we have both seen company management and business economics interfere in the winemaking process. One of the driving forces behind the creation of Myattsfield was to attain “oneological independence” from such influences- which we readily admit is a winemakers indulgence. Myattsfield has given us a freedom to pursue our winemaking with few constraints which makes the job we already love an absolute joy!
Most of the wines in the Myattsfield portfolio are blends. Our aim is to take the strengths of different but synergystic varieties and together use them to create a more complete wine. This approach is very much out of fashion at present, with the focus on single vineyard, single varietal wines prevelant, but we feel it is one that allows us to produce the best wine possible (and we never claim to be fashionable!!). We will spend days bench trialling potential blends before settling on a finished wine- one we feel is the best expression of the style we set out to create.
Life
My father always told me that “if you love what you do you will never work a day in your life”. Grapegrowing and winemaking is more than a job for us- it is our lifestyle. Our year follows the season with periods of great effort and concentration punctuated with poise and reflection. We work 7 days a week through rain, hail or shine and wouldn’t have any other way!
