Argyle Forest Estate

In 2009 Jenny, Tony and Alice Aitkenhead acquired an 8ha property situated in the middle of the lightly wooded Argyle Forest. It had (and has) 4ha of clone PT23 shiraz, which had been planted in the mid-1990s. Both Jenny and Tony have diplomas in viticulture and winemaking, while Alice undertook a number of wine units during her biomedicine degree at the University of Melbourne. They are content that the low-yielding vines should produce less than 2.5 tonnes per hectare (1 tonne per acre) and hand-prune the vines accordingly. -JAMES HALLIDAY