Our Vineyard
A tiny part (1ha!) of our old Riesling vines made place for owner Philip Walsh’s favourite variety – Gewürztraminer. Our production of this variety is very select, grown with exceptional attention.
Our Bouldevines wines are all grown on a single vineyard owned by Philip & Janey Walsh, on part of the Marlborough property first settled by their family in 1935.
The land used to be a sheep and cropping farm until Philip and Janey started growing grapes on this vineyard more than 30 years ago. Originally they operated as contract growers for other labels, but since 2005 Philip and Janey have been making and marketing their own wines under their Bouldevines label. (The name Bouldevines, by the way, is inspired by the key characteristics of the vineyard – being boulders and vines!)
Where it is
Bouldevines Estate Vineyard lies on the Omaka River Flats in the rectangle bordered by Dog Point Road, Hawkesbury Road and the Omaka River. The soils are mostly alluvial, with lots of boulders studded in free-draining loam that has a very high natural nutrient and mineral content.
The 32ha vineyard is blessed with the legendary warm days and cool nights of the Marlborough region. Due to its location, our vineyard is sheltered from cold, easterly winds and free from winter frosts.
Within the overall terroir of Bouldevines, we have identified significant differences between separate parts of the vineyard. For instance, blocks bordering on the river have their own microclimate, causing the grapes grown here to ripen before other parts of the vineyard.
What we've planted
The vineyard is planted in six varieties, most of it Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Noir (about 10ha each), with about half as much Chardonnay and Riesling, as well as small blocks of Pinot Gris and Gewürztraminer. We are in the process of replanting some blocks as we complete the transition from being contract growers to making our own wine.
Sauvignon Blanc
This variety is spread across five separate blocks on different parts of the vineyard. Each block is treated differently and harvested separately. We keep parcels of wine from the different blocks apart throughout most of the winemaking, only blending them before bottling to create our premium Bouldevines and Sprig Sauvignon Blanc.
Our Sauvignon Blanc vines are mainly old and established, presenting mature flavour characters. Newer plantings and clones add fresh and exciting flavours in the blend. By mixing the old and the new, as well as a variety of clones, we can achieve great depth and intensity of flavour.
Pinot Noir
Our Pinot Noir is planted mostly close to the Omaka River. Most of the vines are of the old 10/5 clone and well-established. Some newer plantings of clones 666 and 777 add diversity of flavour, colour and texture.
Chardonnay
The Chardonnay we have is very unusual, being a little known hybrid of clone 2/23 we procured as part of our original batch of vines when we first developed the vineyard back in the 1970s. It turned out to be a most fortuitous choice, as the vines create multi-layered, textured and delicious wine with almost no intervention required from the winemaker. Which is how we like to make our wines at Bouldevines!
Pinot Gris
This small block of vines replaced some earlier Riesling we no longer require. Being a small area, we can give each vine more individual attention. The block is now in full production, producing exciting wines.
Gewürztraminer
A tiny part (1ha!) of our old Riesling vines made place for owner Philip Walsh’s favourite variety – Gewürztraminer. Our production of this variety is very select, grown with exceptional attention.
How we manage the vines
Vertical trellises allow our vine canopies maximum exposure to the warm sunshine of New Zealand’s sunniest region.
In keeping with our caring approach, we maintain an intimate involvement with our vines, constantly monitoring plant health and soil conditions. All of this, of course, is done to the exacting environmental standards of Sustainable Winegrowing New Zealand.
