Description
From one of the highest single vineyard sites in Watervale — where the altitude, the aspect, and the ancient limestone beneath the soil conspire to produce something remarkably delicate.
Bryksy Hill is a site that earns its reputation through position. One of the highest single vineyard sites in Watervale, the vineyard runs east to west — a rare orientation that provides critical protection from the afternoon sun in difficult, hot vintages. Where other vineyards can struggle, Bryksy Hill holds its composure.
The ancient Terra Rossa over limestone gives the fruit a brightness and freshness that altitude and aspect do best — and it is the chalky limestone beneath that leaves its most distinctive mark in the glass. A tannin structure unlike anything from lower-lying sites: fine, white-chalk texture that makes the wine feel light on its feet despite the Grenache warmth underneath.
This is the most immediately expressive of the three Regolith wines — a Grenache of genuine elegance that invites you in with its floral perfume and rewards you with texture and detail. Drink it now over the next five years, or give it time and watch it become something truly special.
"Bryksy Hill has an energy that you feel before you even taste the wine. The elevation, the aspect, the way the light hits in the afternoon — it's a site that protects its fruit and expresses the limestone in a way that's completely its own."
Location: Bryksy Hill, Watervale · Aspect: East-west orientation · Elevation: One of the highest single vineyard sites in Watervale · Soil: Terra Rossa over limestone regolith
Perfect with
"Limestone gives Grenache a lift and a brightness you don't get anywhere else. The chalky tannin is the signature — it's what makes this wine feel so precise, so clean, so different from the other two. Bryksy Hill is a remarkable site and I think this wine shows exactly why."
Jason Cane- Owner of Crabtree winesThe Regolith Series explores how Grenache expresses three completely different ancient soils across Clare Valley. The variety, the winemaker and the vintage are the same across all three wines — only the earth changes. This is the Limestone expression. Also available: Ironstone (Glen Kelly, Springfarm Road — oldest Grenache vines in Clare Valley, planted 1932) and Quartzite (Crabtree Estate).
Part of the Crabtree Regolith Series — three Grenaches, three ancient soils, one extraordinary Clare Valley story.
Read the full Regolith Series story →