Viticulture at Lake's Folly

There is an old saying that the wine is made in the vineyard (ie good fruit makes good wine). Most of our Cabernet vines are almost 55 years old. This means that over the years, the vines have ‘self-regulated’. This natural low cropping gives the grapes better consistency of flavour. The terroir, which is a rare combination of volcanic hill, alluvial creek flat and south-easterly aspect, is ideal for the production of fine wines.

The vines are pruned heavily for low production high quality fruit, and trellised with vertical shoot positioning, which gives more reliable flavour even in difficult years. Maintaining a true ‘estate’ philosophy (ie grown, vintaged and bottled on the estate) allows the wines to fully express the terroir of this site.

Crop levels are also critical in achieving complexity (not to mention canopy management, irrigation etc). Needless to say, growing all our own fruit at the Folly enables us to be super diligent in achieving these goals, with the weather having the last say on the fruit intensity for a particular year. With the old vines, low crop levels, and good canopy management, we are consistently presented with above average fruit. Throw in some traditional winemaking, French oak, and you have a unique distinguished single site wine.