Family owned and estate grown winery, Chalk Hill have been crowned as the 2020 Bushing  Monarchs with their 2019 Alpha Crucis Old Vine Grenache.  

Director of Chalk Hill, Tom Harvey is beaming with excitement, ‘It’s a pinch yourself moment but  we’ve been working towards this position over the past 10 years, it doesn’t just happen overnight.  The Chalk Hill family have put in the hard yards and we’ll continue to strive for balance and purity in our approach to winemaking. To be acknowledged is a humbling honour for my family but also a  tribute to the hard work by our small team.’ John and Diana Harvey established Chalk Hill in 1964, they own six vineyards in the McLaren Vale region.  

Harvey continues, ‘The ethos behind our Alpha Crucis range is to allow the fruit variety and region shine bright. We produce small-batch, high quality wines, which focus on the typicity of varieties and reflects a sense of place. McLaren Vale is a well-suited region to produce high quality Grenache  fruit.’ 

Harvey toasts the Old Vine Grenache to Winemaker Renae Hirsch and General Manager Stu  Mosman, ‘this wine sums up Renae and Stu, their style, delicate palates and years of hard work… but don’t mention Stu (he says with the widest of grins).’  

With minimal intervention Chalk Hill have sourced grapes from 85 year old bush vine Grenache located in Blewitt Springs, Stu Mosman reflects, ‘tasting straight from the 85-year-old heritage vines  in Blewitt Springs we knew the purity, concentration and complexity of the fruit was award winning.’  

Tom Harvey acknowledges the significant impact the industry has faced throughout 2020, ‘what a  rollercoaster this year has been, for the region, industry and for Chalk Hill. We’ve been able to adapt and we’ve showed resilience as a whole in these trying times.’ The Harvey family opened their newly established cellar door, only to quickly close, ‘the lockdown period was challenging for all but we’ve been able to bounce back and open our cellar door to seven days a week, which a few months ago  felt doubtful.’  

Tom Harvey finishes, ‘To be included in the same calibre as previous Bushing Monarchs is an honour  and privilege.’ 

Chalk Hill’s cellar door is open daily until 5pm and trade until 10pm on Friday’s. Limited stock is  available of the 2019 Alpha Crucis Old Vine Grenache.