Cellar Profile
In 1980, the Leask family moved from the Hunter Valley to McLaren Vale, in Southeast Australia. They have since purchased several vineyards through the hilly, iconic region, allowing brothers Malcolm and Richard to finally open their own winery. The vineyards sit upon mineral-rich reddish-brown loam and clay soils, with quartzite and sand. These iconic reddish soils are high in iron content, imparting a savoury, umami note to a lot of the wines. While the days get quite warm during the growing season, there is a strong ocean breeze from the nearby Gulf of Saint Vincent, which also drops the temperature markedly during the evening, allowing the grapes to cool and maintaining freshness in the wines. In the vineyard, H&Y practices Regenerative Agriculture, working the vineyards in such a way as to help reverse climate change by rebuilding soil organic matter and restoring degraded soil biodiversity. With a preference for Mediterranean and Iberian Peninsula varieties, they offer an eclectic collection of wines including Tempranillo, Nero d’Avola, Touriga Nacional, Aglianico, Malbec and Carignan.
Region
McLaren Vale is located in South Australia, approximately 35 km south of Adelaide. Nestled between the Mount Lofty Ranges to the east and Gulf St Vincent to the west, it is part of the larger Fleurieu Zone and is one of the country's oldest and most celebrated wine regions, with viticulture dating back to the 1830s. Red grapes represent almost 75% of the area under vine, including Shiraz (approximately half of total plantings), Grenache and Mataro (Mourvèdre). The region boasts a Mediterranean climate, with moderate winter rainfall, warm dry summers ideal for ripening and cool sea breezes from the Gulf St Vincent that help retain acidity in the grapes. The region’s geology is among the most diverse and complex in Australia, with over 40 distinct soil types, contributing to vineyard diversity and wine character. These are wines with concentrated fruit flavors, ripe tannins and balanced natural acidity. McLaren Vale is a leader in sustainable viticulture in Australia, with strong adoption of organic, biodynamic and minimal-intervention practices.
Vineyard
The Hunt and Sand Road vineyard was first planted to Grenache in 1960 and to Mataro in 2008. The property is regeneratively farmed and Sustainable Winegrowing Australia Certified. The soil here is reddish brown loam with some iron sandstone deposits from the nearby slopes and creek. In 2023, a very wet, cold winter and spring made for extremely challenging vineyard management and disease pressure conditions. Regenerative agriculture was the key—grass cover, organic material and soil moisture. In spite of the lateness of the season, a lovely autumn – cool but warm enough for ripening – resulted in fresh, balanced and high quality fruit.
Winemaking
Hand-picked Grenache and Mataro grapes were gently de-stemmed and cold crushed to stainless open-top fermenters in separate batches. The winery aims to retain at least 80% of whole berries, keeping them cool and then gently warmed to a wild yeast ferment over two days. After primary fermentation, the wines were pressed to tank. The Mataro was then transferred to 6-7-year-old French Oak 330L hogsheads, the Grenache to 4-5-year-old French oak 500L puncheons. After eight months in oak, the wines were racked, co-blended and left for two months to mesh. Microscreen-filtered prior to bottling.
Tasting Notes
As pretty as it is tasty, this brilliant purple blend has aromas of raspberry, red cherry, Amaro, pink peppercorns and red roses. A lively and succulent mouth-feel, with ripe, crunchy tannins. Juicy berries, orange zest and dark chocolate are accentuated by hints of ironstone and baked earth. This has genuine power, length and good bones for aging. Serve alongside grilled and roasted red meats, hearty ragus,or portobello burgers.
Varieties
Grenache is one of the most widely-planted grape varieties in the world, with substantial plantings in France, Spain, South Africa and Australia. These thin-skinned and extremely vigorous grapes are best grown in warm, dry conditions where care is taken to manage the canopy and reduce yields. Their root systems are strong and can survive in dry climates with little irrigation. This hardy variety is also late-ripening and one of the last off the vine.Grenache is often blended with Syrah, Carignan, Tempranillo or Mourvèdre to add acidity, colour and tannin. Mataro, also known as Mourvèdre, is well-suited to the McLaren Vale climate. It is drought-tolerant, with thick skins that retain flavour and prevent dehydration. It is also late ripening and produces full-bodied wines with rich flavour profiles and heady, complex aromas.