Description
Gembrook Hill was established in 1983 by June and Ian Marks. The southernmost vineyard in the Upper Yarra Valley. Ian and June were pioneers of this region planting Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. As a dentist, Ian had a vision of producing special terroir driven wines and all his efforts were directed towards this end.
The 5Ha vineyard is planted at 300m in a natural amphitheatre with a north easterly aspect. It is a cool site with vigorous volcanic red loam soils and high rainfall. The vines are dry grown. The majority of the vineyard is on own roots, with some recent plantings on rootstock coming into production. As vignerons, the winemakers spend all year in the vineyard striving towards growing the best grapes possible. The winemaking approach is dictated by the site with every effort made to reflect the season and site in the wines.
Today the vineyard and winery is managed by June and Andrew Marks. Small quantities of Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, vintage Blanc de Blancs (released with 6 years on lees) and Pinot Noir are produced. Estate grown and bottled. In the inaugural Halliday Wine Companion Top 100 Wineries in Australia in 2023, Gembrook Hill Vineyard came in at 24th on the list.
