“I don’t
need accolades, I just want to get shit done,” Peter McGlashan tells me as we chat
about the direction and his vision for the Granite Belt. You’d be hard pressed to find someone as
passionate about the region’s dirt.
McGlashan
arrived on the Granite Belt in 1998. Having spent his years working in
hospitality, he landed a job at the Happy Valley retreat working on the bar. A jack-of-all-trades,
he soon found himself doing maintenance and running the cellar door at Emerald
Hill, later re-named Ridgemill Estate. When the new owner Martin Cooper asked
if he could make the wine, he gave his typical response, “I’ll give it a go.” He
hasn’t looked back since with his first Chardonnay vintage in 2005 being
awarded a gold medal at the International Chardonnay Challenge in Gisborne, New
Zealand.
In his
time at the helm, the label has continued to develop with new varieties and
blends continually being sort after. But it’s not all about him and his wines – McGlashan has been quite vocal
on social media to get the Granite Belt word out there to the masses, and he
has done so with tremendous success.
Varieties
that have been staples for the Ridgemill Estate brand since its inception have
been Verdelho, Chardonnay, Tempranillo, Cabernet, Shiraz and Merlot, but it's McGlashan’s desire to think outside the square which has him gaining plaudits
from some of the best in the business.
Chardonnay
is McGlashan’s thing, and although he could sit on his hands and produce a
‘house style’ each vintage, every year is different to the previous depending
on the fruit, use of oak and even stylistically. Numerous awards have come his
way since including a trophy at the James Halliday Chardonnay Challenge in 2013 for his 2012 WYP Chardonnay, but nothing tops the trophy received for his 2014 Chardonnay at the
Australian Small Winemaker’s Show with the added bonus of the Viticulturist of
the Year award.
On-going
discussions for twelve months with local stalwart Jim Barnes saw the two hatch
the Strange Bird concept in 2007 to sell the region’s diverse use of
alternative varieties. This vision in action put the region on the map all
those years ago. McGlashan has himself introduced the little known dark inky
Jacquez as well as Saperavi, a Georgian variety which is a neat fit in the
region. He has since attended the Saperavi Symposium in McLaren Vale a few
times to further his knowledge and understanding of the variety.
With a
soft spot for Gamay, McGlashan produced a side project a few years ago with
fruit sourced from Toowoomba of all places. Such was the success his stock sold
out quickly during those two vintages. Subsequent vintages were quashed when
the vineyard was pulled out in 2015.
In recent
years he has added Riesling and Pinot Gris as well as Grenache and Mourvedre to the Ridgemill Estate range. He’s on point with current trends too and
even dipped his toe into skin contact wines. He has now produced four
vintages of this plaything, something he describes as ‘hands off – brain on’. A cheeky take
on Chateauneauf-du-Pape is soon to be released too, with local winemaker Ray
Costanzo claiming it to be one of the best wines he’s seen produced on the Granite
Belt. A blend of Shiraz and Grenache (60/40), the Shiraz component is unwooded
and saw the use of some whole bunches. Watch this space.
McGlashan goes by
Granite Gravels on social media – he clearly has Granite Gravels in his blood.
Twitter: @GraniteGravels Instagram: @GraniteGravels Web: www.ridgemillestate.com
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