Laurel Bank

Situated on moderate, north-facing slopes overlooking the Derwent river, the vineyard has a cool maritime microclimate.

The Tasmanian wine industry is very well placed to produce premium quality wine from classic European varieties with cool dry summers and long sunny autumns. Laurel Bank was established by Kerry Carland in 1986 at Granton. The vineyard meets the criteria for production of high-quality fruit, with low yields, intense flavours and definitive varietal characteristics. It has a northerly aspect with sloping topography, steep enough to ensure that spring frosts are never a problem. The vineyard soils are a remarkable mixture of high pH, black cracking clay in the upper half with the lower section tending towards a sandy loam over sandstone floaters and orange clay. The best of this section has been planted with Bordeaux varieties and some of the Pinot Noir. The very difficult low nutrient remainder has been reserved for the normally too vigorous Sauvignon Blanc. The Riesling and the rest of the pinot struggle away in the upper black clay section in a pH around 8. With the exception of the Riesling, the vines are now approaching twenty years of age with the Bordeaux varieties and most of the Pinot Noir at 22 years old.