Description
Beneath the Crabtree estate runs the ghost of an ancient creek. The soil it left behind — dark, dense Bay of Biscay over quartzite — produces the most introspective wine in the Regolith Series.
There is a part of the Crabtree estate vineyard that sits in what was once a creek bed — a watercourse that carried water through this valley when Clare was first being settled in the 1840s. That creek is long gone. What it left behind is something extraordinary: dark Bay of Biscay soil over a quartzite regolith that gives this parcel of the estate a character unlike anything else we grow.
Of the three Regolith Series wines, the Quartzite is the one that demands the most attention. It doesn't announce itself. It waits. Where the Ironstone is deep and the Limestone is bright, the Quartzite is quiet and precise — a wine of fine-boned minerality, delicate red fruit, and extraordinary length that only reveals itself over time in the glass.
This is a wine for people who love Grenache at its most contemplative. It is the kind of wine that makes you put your phone down and pay attention.
"The quartzite block on our estate is the one that surprised me most. The soil looks completely different — dark, almost black. And the wine it produces is unlike anything else I make here. Softer, more delicate. The quartzite beneath does something I still find remarkable."
Location: Crabtree Estate, 4 North Terrace, Watervale SA · Soil: Dark Bay of Biscay soil over quartzite regolith · Feature: Ancient creek bed — site of original Clare Valley settlement waterway
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"The Quartzite block on our estate is unlike anywhere else on the property. The moment I saw the soil — that dark Bay of Biscay colour — I knew it would produce something different. It has a softness and a precision that is completely its own. Of the three, this is the one I find most fascinating."
Jason Cane - 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 — only the earth changes. This is the Quartzite expression from our own estate. Also available: Limestone (Bryksy Hill, Watervale) and Ironstone (Glen Kelly, Springfarm Road — oldest Grenache vines in Clare Valley).
Part of the Crabtree Regolith Series — three Grenaches, three ancient soils, one extraordinary Clare Valley story.
Read the full Regolith Series story →