Tyrrell’s Glenbawn Estate Vineyard
Aberdeen, Upper Hunter Valley, NSW
The Hunter region is made up of the upper Hunter and lower Hunter, and is linked by the Hunter River. Agriculture became the main impetus for colonial settlement of the Hunter after a penal colony was established at Coal River (Newcastle) in 1804. Much of the expansion in the upper Hunter took place in the boom period of the 1960s and 1970s.
The north side of the valley is defined by even higher ranges than in the south, radiating out from the rainforest and subalpine hub of the Barrington Tops plateau and sending numerous pristine rivers plunging towards the Hunter. The summer climate in the Hunter is humid, with high cloudiness and high rainfall. A break in the Great Dividing Range allows summer sea breezes to penetrate the valley. Rainfall is often highest just prior to and during harvest in February.
The vintage period is one of the earliest and shortest in Australia with harvest commencing in late January in the lower Hunter. Yields are generally low so grape quality is good, and there is an inexplicable affinity between the terroir and the Semillon and Shiraz grapes for which the area is justly renowned.
The Tyrrell's Glenbawn Estate winery and vineyards are situated in Aberdeen at the base of Glenbawn Dam on the Hunter River. The original vineyard was planted in the late 1960's. Tyrrell's leased the property from 1979 and purchased it in 1988. Grapes from local growers and from Tyrrell’s South Australian and Victorian vineyards are processed at Glenbawn Estate.
| Area Under Vine |
240 acres |
| Varieties |
Semillon,
Chardonnay,
Traminer,
Trebbiano
|
| Average Yield |
6 tonnes/acre |
| Map Coordinated |
32°15'S |
| Altitude |
150-250m |
| Soil Type |
Sandy loam, volcanic podsolic |
| Climate |
Warm, continental |
| Annual Rainfall |
620mm |
| Mean January temperature |
22.3°C |
| Irrigation |
Drip irrigation from the Hunter River |
| Primary Brands |
Glenbawn Estate, Moore’s Creek, Old Winery and Lost Block |