The Fusilier

Our last acquisition (2013), located in the very heart of Central Otago wine on Felton Rd. in Bannockburn. Another superb site, now giving us fruit from all three major Central Valleys. It is six hectares, all Pinot Noir.

The Fusilier is situated in Bannockburn and on Felton Road. Right in the heart of what some call the “Dress Circle” of Central Otago wine. In fact, the new vineyard is pretty much right next door to the esteemed Felton Road Vineyard itself, so close we could put a hole through Nigel and Blair's windows. Only our innate sense of fair play, and our lack of a decent catapult, prevent such nonsense. Anyway, we had been on the lookout for a good site thereabouts for quite some time, an additional string to the TP bow, so to speak. So late 2013, when the opportunity arose to acquire the former Desert Heart vineyard from our friends Denny and Jane, the Prop jumped through several circus-sized hoops to seize the day.

Now the new vineyard at the western end of Felton Road is renamed THE FUSILIER. Our other neighbours are Terra Sancta and the western Akarua vineyard. The Fusilier consists of 5.6 hectares of prime Pinot. It takes its name in memory of the old Fusilier himself, the late Major Dermot Neill, latterly Wine Merchant and Convivial Wine Drinker of Dunedin. A man who always knew there was a future for wine in Central Otago.

We believe this makes us the SOLE Central Otago wine producer to own vineyards in all three major sub-regions, the three valleys (Gibbston Valley, the Alexandra Basin and the Cromwell Basin). We are therefore following perhaps the Burgundian model, a small but carefully placed foot in various camps of excellence in our superlative region.

This is the first vineyard we own that we have not developed ourselves, but it immediately came under the tender ministrations of our team under Mike Wing, and fruit from the Fusillier is an important component of Two Paddocks Pinot Noir from the 2014 vintage on. In addition we release a premium single vineyard wine - The Fusilier Pinot Noir, the first vintage of this was 2014. Both are extraordinary. Onward and upward!

The details:

• Aspect -- rolling northerly facing terraces
• Row Orientation -- due North
• Vine Density -- 2,500 / hectare
• Canopy Management -- VSP/Spur pruned
• Size -- 6Ha total 5.66 Ha planted (14 acres)
• Soils -- The terraces consist of deep alluvial fans, which are made up of varying depths of silt, sand and gravel layering all derived from mountainous schist parent material.
• Planted -- All in 2000.
• Clones -- 10/5 – 1.18 hectares, 115 – 2 hectares, 777 – 0.9 hectare, 113 – 0.16 hectare, 114 – 0.06, 667 – 1.0 hectare, Clone 5 – 0.04, Clone 6 - 0.26,
• Rootstock -- a range of five different rootstocks used.