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There were two scrub covered parcels of land, just outside Pokolbin village along McDonalds Road, that local council had long set aside for use as cricket ground and cemetery. Both were ultimately auctioned off to the highest bidders and sown to vine. A third undeveloped site became the subject of a long running feud among the new and old neighbours. Dodgy invoices between the rivals were exchanged and the division of firewood became a further cause of contention. A truce was eventually called by the two protagonists, Brokenwood and Hungerford Hill, for the sake of healthy viticulture. The nascent blocks achieved international renown as the eminent Cricket Pitch and the Langtons Listed Graveyard Vineyard, establishing Brokenwood as one of the most cherished marques in Hunter Valley wine... Sociable soils make for healthy vine»

Gemtree Ernest Allen Shiraz CONFIRM VINTAGE

Shiraz McLaren Vale South Australia
Ernest Allan Rivers was a highly gifted agriculturalist who possessed an uncanny understanding of the soil, seasons and harvest. The Gemtree viticutural team have assembled parcels of Shiraz from a number of elite blocks, picked to a schedule holistically determined by the vagaries of vintage for optimal flavour and tannin ripeness, naturally fermented on skins for a fortnight, pressed and drained into French oak barriques for aging on gross lees over the course of twenty months. Assembled to a style that's characterised by seamlessness, generosity and warmth.
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Gemtree
Gemtree Vineyards is owned and run by third generation grapegrowers, the Buttery Family

The Buttery family is dedicated to producing interesting and appealing wines of the highest quality from their McLaren Vale vineyards. They are also passionate about sound environmental practises, sustainable agriculture and innovation.

Gemtree

In 1980 Paul and Jill Buttery took a punt and put all their hard earned money, with some help from the bank, into buying a vineyard on Tatachilla Road, at the heart of the McLaren Vale Wine Region. A few years later when the wine industry was struggling they bought another vineyard with land on the eastern side of the region in the foothills near McLaren Flat and called it Gemtree. They set about gradually planting the rest of the land.

In 1994 their daughter Melissa was doing some extra work in the vineyard having already completed an Associate Diploma in Business from the University of SA when she decided she enjoyed grape wrangling so much she would make a career out of it. She studied to qualify as a viticulturist and now manages the Gemtree Vineyards as well as other vineyards for customers of the Terraces Vineyard Management, an offshoot of Gemtree. In 1997 Melissa's brother Andrew returned from Melbourne to manage The Terraces and in 1998 the grapegrowing Buttery family agreed to launch the Gemtree wine label.

Enter Mike Brown stage left, a winemaker and boyfriend of Melissa. Having worked for a couple of years at d'Arenberg, Mike was asked by the Buttery's to make their wine. Shortly after that he asked the Buttery's, including his girlfriend, if he could marry Melissa. In 1999 Gemtree was joined part time by Helen, wife of Andrew with a background in marketing, to round off the team. Today Gemtree owns 330 acres of prime vineyard with varieties such as Shiraz, Tempranillo, Sangiovese, Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay, Petit Verdot, Cabernet Franc, Riesling, Semillon, Alborino and Verdelho.

Gemtree

Since 1998 Gemtree has also been developing the 10 ha Gemtree Wetlands. Having created 6 dams and planted 20,000 native trees and plants they are now working in partnership with Greening Australia creating a an area of biodiversity which is a major haven for native plants, frogs, birds and animals as well as being a great teaching resource for the community. The Buttery/ Brown family is dedicated to producing interesting and appealing wines of the highest quality from their McLaren Vale vineyards. They are also passionate about sound environmental practises, sustainable agriculture and innovation.

Gemtree has two vineyards. Tatachilla Road behind the township of McLaren Vale and the Gemtree Vineyard in the foothills near McLaren Flat. In 1983 Paul and Jill Buttery sunk a bore which helped improve the Tatachilla Road vineyard and then in 1987 and 1989 bought adjoining parcels of land (15 acres & 10 acres) which were planted with Semillon and Cabernet Sauvignon. Over the years some of the original vineyard was grafted to Riesling, Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc. The Sauvignon Blanc has since been converted back to Shiraz and in 2006 the Chardonnay was removed and replaced with 3 different clones of Shiraz. 2005 and 2006 saw some Cabernet Sauvignon grafted over to Albarino (a Spanish white variety).

Having established a vineyard management business called The Terraces, Paul was engaged to establish a new vineyard in the McLaren Flat region for a group known as Viticulture 2000 Trust set up by Brian McGuigan. This property was known as Gemtree and 96 acres of Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon, Shiraz and Pinot Noir were planted in 1989. In 1991 the Gemtree property was put on the market and Paul and Jill purchased it. Since then they have purchased adjoining parcels of land planting vines on it. Today Gemtree Vineyards in McLaren Flat comprises 260 acres under vine planted with Chardonnay, Verdelho, Riesling, Pinot Noir, Merlot, Shiraz, Cabernet Sauvignon, Tempranillo, Petit Verdot and Sangiovese.

In the vineyard, Melissa allows the vines to achieve their natural balance. An integrated pest management program encompassing minimal sprays, and canopy management, encouraging air flow and sunlight exposure, assists in prevention of disease and promotes fruit quality. The use of organic and straw mulches combined with soil moisture monitoring technology, minimises the need for irrigation and demonstrates Gemtree's commitment to sound environmental practices. Gemtree are also trialling organic practises in Petit Verdot, biodynamic practises in the Tempranillo, Albarino and Shiraz and the use of Wiltipole sheep to help reduce the weeds and keep the grass mown around the place.

Gemtree