QUICK FACTS

• First planted in 1992 (31 years old in 2023).
• McCutcheon is our second highest vineyard – 200m at its highest point with an average slope of 5°.
• Because of the easterly slope the vines receive very good light without the intense heat which keeps the fruit cooler during the growing and ripening season. This leads to more elegant flavours with greater structure and finer tannins than the Judd and Wallis vineyards in most years.
• MV6 from the Ridge Block North provides the fruit for the McCutcheon Vineyard Pinot Noir (this is our highest Pinot Noir block).
• P58 from the Ridge Block South provides the fruit for the McCutcheon Vineyard Chardonnay (this is our highest Chardonnay block).
• On average, Pinot Noir ripens latest here, 5 days after Judd, 7 days after Wallis and 26 days after Coolart Road.
• Chardonnay ripens here 5 days after Wallis and 5 days before Judd.

HISTORY

Prior to Karen and Martin’s acquisition of the property in 2006 it was purchased in 1985 by Andrew & Vivienne McCutcheon.

In 1991 the McCutcheon’s sought advice from many of the early Mornington Peninsula wine pioneers and viticultural consultant Ian Macrae.

Macrae advised that the property was eminently suitable for grape growing, and advised that they get soil tests, and consider planting some 15 acres. In 1992 they commenced work on dams, water storage, irrigation systems, vineyard layout and earth works, completing initial planting in the spring of 1992.

1995 saw the first crop and the first wines being produced under Dromana and Stonier labels. Small amounts of wine were also made by Vivienne and Andrew under the Peninsula Ridge label until 1999 when Ten Minutes by Tractor was formed. The original Ten Minutes by Tractor cellar door was on the McCutcheon Vineyard until the new restaurant and cellar door opened just around the corner in 2006.

SLOPE ORIENTATION

Due east. The easterly fall of this vineyard offers perfect gentle warming of the soil from sunrise through to the late afternoon. During the day the vines receive very good light without the intense heat which keeps the fruit cooler during the growing and ripening season. This leads to more elegant flavours with greater structure and finer tannins than the Judd and Wallis vineyards in most years.

SLOPE & ELEVATION

At its highest McCutcheon is our second highest vineyard – at 200m not quite as high as Judd (206m) nor as low as Spedding (187m), Wallis (142m) or Coolart (72m) – and at 5° is the same as Spedding, not quite as steep as Judd (6°) or as level as Wallis (4°) or Coolart (1°).

In total a 26m vertical fall over a horizontal distance of 305m, however, on average, the western one third is level and almost all the fall is in the eastern two thirds of the property, and in this two thirds the slope is 1 in 12 or about 5°.

ROW ORIENTATION

All the vine rows run down the slope, orientated east to west. This facilitates drainage down the slope, orientates the rows perpendicular to the strongest of the prevailing winds (north and south to south-west), reduces the impact of any intense heatwave bursts (the hottest afternoon sun from the west has less impact than on west facing rows, ie those running north-south), achieves the longest and most efficient row length and is safest for any tractor operations.

WIND

Exposed to easterly and westerly winds, protected from south west winds. The lower zone is exposed to northerly winds, and therefore can experience some drying out and evaporation during summer, though as at the Judd vineyard the lower soils are slightly more fertile than those higher in the vineyard because of water drainage down the slope (although the elevation here relative to the lower lakes and seasonal creek keep the vines out of the water table and drier).

TEMPERATURE

Taking Pinot Noir harvest dates from our reference blocks as a proxy for temperature, Coolart Road is our warmest vineyard followed by Wallis then Judd and McCutcheon. This we would expect – Coolart Road is the lowest followed by Wallis then Judd and McCutcheon is the highest. And of course it is never that simple, there are specifics in each reference vineyard that effect the averages…

• Judd Pinot Noir is the earlier ripening 115 clone; Coolart Road, McCutcheon and Wallis are the later ripening MV6.
• Judd and Coolart Road Pinot Noir is on hybrid rootstock; McCutcheon and Wallis are on their own; the rootstocks on Judd and Coolart Road contribute to a short vegetative cycle.
• Judd faces due west, McCutcheon due east; Coolart Road and Wallis are flatter with a slight northerly aspect. Wallis is close to Bass Strait and exposed to cooler breezes from there.

19 Year Average Pinot Noir Harvest Dates…

• Coolart Road (A Block MV6, altitude 69m) 7 March (10 year average)
• Wallis (Middle Block MV6, altitude 128m) 27 March
• Judd (Creek Block 115, altitude 163m) 28 March
• McCutcheon (Ridge Block MV6, altitude 201m) 2 April Harvest differences (days)…

SOIL

The soils here are the red ferrosols common to the Main Ridge sub-region.

The top soil, classed as a silty clay loam, runs to a depth of about 20-30cm over these red ferrosols. It suffers little from compaction and is generally well aerated, with excellent drainage and no water logging.

The upper zone of the vineyard has thinner topsoil and dries out faster than the lower zone. In addition, water drains to the east, along the vine rows, with land contours and slowly seeps into the lower zone creating higher soil moisture content with associated higher vigour and higher yields.

These are very broad soil classifications and we are continuing to investigate the more specific details in each vineyard, in fact, each block.