The Oaks Vineyard / Brancott Valley – One Acre Syrah
Subregion: Brancott Valley
Region: Marlborough
Grows: Syrah & Viognier
Planting density: 5600 plants per ha
Clones: Selected
Planted: 2017
Rainfall: 600-800 mm / annum
Mean Annual GDD: 1100-1250
Soils: Mostly rich, nutrient‑dense clay loam with a small percentage of stones
Elevation (m): 54 m
Hectares: 1 ha
The Oaks Vineyard - Climate & Soils
The Oaks is situated on the valley floor of the Brancott Valley in the Southern Valleys sub region. It sits beneath the hills on the western side of the valley, which protect it from cold westerly winds – though it is completely open to the prevailing north-westerly, earning its classification as a "very high wind zone."
The Oaks covers 8.1 hectares and sits on a soil matrix predominantly made up of nutrient-dense clay, with channels of small stones spread across it – material likely carried down the valley floor by the movement of the Fairhall River over hundreds of years. In places, the change in soil type is strikingly obvious.
Planting has been designed around these channels. The one-acre block of Syrah, with viognier interplanted, has been zoned to the heavy clay.
The Oaks has been planted with a high level of precision – perfectly straight rows, for example – so that when the age of autonomous vineyard vehicles arrives, we will be well positioned to embrace it.
