Mt Difficulty Chief Winemaker Greg Lane. Foley Family Wines
Mt Difficulty started when five vineyard owners in the Bannockburn sub-region decided to combine their resources and make wine under one label. That arrangement was formalised in 2004 and the first wines, a chardonnay and a pinot noir, were produced in 1998.
Mt Difficulty now owns some of the oldest vineyards in Bannockburn.
Today they make wine from many vineyards in Bannockburn, Bendigo, Gibbston and Lowburn while the range has been extended and now includes riesling, sauvignon blanc, pinot gris, chenin blanc and syrah.
Mt Difficulty now owns some of the oldest vineyards in Bannockburn. The Bannockburn soils are a mix of clay and gravels with an all-important high pH level. In 2019 Mt Difficulty was purchased by California’s Foley Family Wines. Two years later Mt Difficulty’s long-term winemaker, Matt Dicey, resigned and was replaced by Australian Greg Lane who had recently been named New Zealand Young Winemaker of the Year.
I asked Greg if he had made any changes in the vineyard and winery.
“No wholesale changes. Matt was doing a pretty good job. I like wines with elegance and perfume which meant a slight tweak on picking dates. I did put a bit of focus on vineyard sourcing to identify the quality blocks.”
Mount Difficulty Wines 1<!–Hide on aggregate ratings /3–> 92.7<!–Hide
This Article was originally published on The Real Review
