Mount Majura Wine

04/06/2020

Tempranillo is our flagship variety, and arguably the most exciting variety in the world today. It is of course the great red variety of Spain, but it is also the variety being most rapidly planted in the world.
We planted tempranillo for the first time in 2000, in a patch of the vineyard we call Rock Block. Not only did tempranillo have a track record in Spain for being able to make outstanding, structured wines, but our Canberra District climate was a good match for the regions in Spain where it does best. It is a variety that responds to continentality, that is, large differences between day and night temperatures, and between summer and winter temperatures.
Our first Tempranillo vintage in 2003 was a revelation, unlike any other variety we were making. It had tremendous perfume, as well as intensity and structure. That wine still drinks well today, and we deliberately make our Tempranillo in a style suited to ageing.
Our small initial planting of tempranillo was quickly expanded. In 2004 we grafted a nearby patch of pinot noir to create what we now call the ‘Little Dam’ block, and in 2009 we commenced grafting and replanting merlot, in a patch we now call ‘Dry Spur’. Tempranillo has become the most important variety at Mount Majura Vineyard, covering 20% of our 9.3 hectares.

04/06/2020

Write a letter to someone you love, shear your story with our wine.

04/06/2020

which one do you like?

04/06/2020

04/06/2020

Visite our winery to get our free Mount Majura bags!!

04/06/2020

The Mount Majura Vineyard
The site for Mount Majura Vineyard was selected from a geology map, exploiting a small patch of limestone on an east-facing slope.
The limestone is mixed with volcanic rock, and both are very old, dating from the Silurian (430 million years). The red, iron-rich soil that has developed from these parent rocks has an almost neutral pH, some clay that gives water holding capacity, and excellent structure, allowing water to infiltrate and roots to pe*****te to depth.
When you consider the Canberra climate, with its warm summers and relatively low and unreliable rainfall, the value of good soil is obvious. The most important feature of the climate from a viticultural point of view is its continentality, with large differences between summer and winter temperatures, and between day and night temperatures. This explains the relatively good ‘homo-clime’ or climate match to Spanish regions such as Ribera del Duero, so it is no surprise that tempranillo and other varieties such as shiraz, that suit a continental climate, do well here.

04/06/2020

Mount Majura Vineyard lies near the top of the Majura Valley, just outside the city of Canberra. The valley floor, too frosty in Spring for vines, was a camping area and transit corridor for the original Ngunnawal people.
On the slopes of the valley, where the the cold air drains away, the soil has developed from two geological formations. Limestone was deposited in the Silurian era, 430 million years ago, at the beginning of the simplest life on land. The Ainslie Volcanics, which form Mount Majura itself, were deposited very shortly afterwards.
To a vigneron, an east-facing slope with limestone speaks softly but urgently of a need to plant vines. So it was that the late Dr Edgar Riek, a pioneer of viticulture in the Canberra District, came to plant a vineyard together with the then owner of our site, Mrs Dinny Killen. In 1988, the first hectare of Mount Majura Vineyard was planted, to pinot noir, chardonnay, and a field-blend of cabernet franc and merlot.

04/06/2020

Mount Majura Vineyard lies near the top of the Majura Valley, just outside the city of Canberra. The valley floor, too frosty in Spring for vines, was a camping area and transit corridor for the original Ngunnawal people.
On the slopes of the valley, where the the cold air drains away, the soil has developed from two geological formations. Limestone was deposited in the Silurian era, 430 million years ago, at the beginning of the simplest life on land. The Ainslie Volcanics, which form Mount Majura itself, were deposited very shortly afterwards.
To a vigneron, an east-facing slope with limestone speaks softly but urgently of a need to plant vines. So it was that the late Dr Edgar Riek, a pioneer of viticulture in the Canberra District, came to plant a vineyard together with the then owner of our site, Mrs Dinny Killen. In 1988, the first hectare of Mount Majura Vineyard was planted, to pinot noir, chardonnay, and a field-blend of cabernet franc and merlot.

04/06/2020

Time makes the story of wine

04/06/2020

Visit our website for more information
https://www.mountmajura.com.au/