Chalk Hill Wines
McLaren Vale , South Australia
Brands
Alpha Crucis, Chalk Hill, Luna by Chalk Hill, Poética
Winery Overview
Chalk Hill Wines has a family viticultural legacy that spans six generations and 186 years. It began in 1839, when John Harvey arrived in Adelaide, becoming one of the pioneers of Australia’s wine industry. Six generations and 186 years later, the family continues this tradition in McLaren Vale with Chalk Hill and Alpha Crucis Wines, now the most highly visited winery in McLaren Vale, welcoming over 100,000 visitors annually.
Chalk Hill Wines own 6 vineyards across the McLaren Vale region, 2 of which are certified organic, with the remainder to follow. All vineyards are run as part of the sustainable winegrowing Australia guidelines. Its oldest vines were planted back in 1897 and still produce fruit to this day.
Since 2007, Chalk Hill Wines has been recognised by James Halliday as a Top Five Red Star winery for 18 consecutive years, an achievement only awarded to the top 8% of wineries in Australia.
Chalk Hill Wines specialises in premium varieties like Shiraz, Grenache, and Cabernet Sauvignon. We are particularly proud of our Alpha Crucis Old Vine Grenache - received 98 points from Hames Halliday and was selected as one of James Halliday's Top 100 wines, also awarded Best Grenache in Australia at the National Wine Show of Australia.
In 2020 and 2023, Chalk Hill Wines was awarded Best Wine of Show at the McLaren Vale Wine Show, competing against over 700 entrants.
Its winemaker, Renae Hirsch, produces wines which display vibrancy and purity of fruit, are well balanced and reflect the heritage of the vines and the regions they come from. We undertake a minimalist approach in the winery, with minimal sulphites used. Oak remains in the background at all times and is there to support the wine and ensure the varietal characters and vineyard characters shine through.
Available in
Canada, Germany, Japan, New Zealand, Poland, Russia, Taiwan, USA
Seeking Distribution in
Belgium, Canada, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, India, Indonesia, Mexico, Singapore, South Korea, Sweden, Switzerland, Thailand, USA, Vietnam
Winemaker Bio
Winemaker Renae Hirsch joined Chalk Hill in November 2014 to oversee all aspects of Chalk Hill’s winemaking. She has been a hugely refreshing addition to the Chalk Hill team with her passion for wine and winemaking shining through. Her approach to winemaking is quite simple, she likes to make and drink wines that have a purity of fruit expression, showcasing varietal, regional and vineyard characteristics.
She believes this is achieved using as little intervention as possible, aiming to guide the wines through maturation before bottling to maintain freshness while having balance, elegance and finesse, allowing the potential of each parcel of fruit to be realised.
With this approach she is bringing a subtle change to the Chalk Hill wines style. This is in full evidence with the 2015 vintage where our wines are showing more brightness, more balance and structure and higher natural acids. The wines are showing greater purity and varietal character and a degree of finesse.