Western Australian winery Howard Park has purchased the 48-hectare Forest View vineyard from the Radomiljac family.
The Forest View vineyard features six varieties of grape: primarily Chardonnay, alongside Pinot Noir, Prosecco, Pinot Gris, Sauvignon Blanc and Semillon. The vineyard will predominantly supply fruit for Howard Park’s Jeté sparkling wine range, with fruit from the site arriving at Howard Park’s winemaking facilities this vintage.
“The goal is to be West Australia’s premier sparkling producer and this acquisition is the next step on our journey,” Howard Park Wines founder Jeff Burch said, “The fruit from the Forest View site, and the Pemberton region as a whole, makes an excellent sparkling base, which will be a brilliant complement and blending component for our Jeté wines. In addition, we’ll continue to showcase what the region has to offer in the sparkling wine category.”
The vineyard will continue to be managed by David and Jordan Radomiljac, who also produce Pemberley of Pemberton wines.
“Our relationship with the Burch family goes way back and this further solidifies the bond between our two winemaking businesses,” said Jordan Radomiljac, of Pemberley of Pemberton. “Forest View has been a terrific resource for both of our businesses, and we know through this ongoing partnership,
it will give Howard Park the opportunity to bring more awareness to the quality of sparkling wines coming out of the Pemberton wine region.”
The acquisition represents a new opportunity for the Howard Park winemaking team.
“Our Chief Winemaker Nic Bowen has an incredible track record of producing exceptional wines, and especially world class sparkling,” Burch said, “This investment gives Nic and his team even more opportunity to showcase their talents and indicates how serious we are about crafting West Australia’s best sparkling wines.”
Bowen has a personal connection to the Forest View vineyard; His father, Rob Bowen, was the original winemaker at Pemberley and his late mother, Denise, designed Pemberley’s art deco label.
“I originally visited Pemberley with my dad many years ago to inspect the vines. I casually mentioned that the south-facing Chardonnay D block would be brilliant for making méthode traditionnelle sparkling wines. Never in a million years did I think I’d get to do just that,” Bowen said.
Additionally, Bowen will assist the Pemberley team in further developing their own sparkling wines with fruit from their original sites, continuing the strong partnership between the Burch and Radomiljac families.
The oldest vines on the site were planted 20 years ago and grow in sandy loam and clay loam soil. The climate is a hybrid of maritime continental, with the distance above sea level ranging from 150 metres to 180 metres. The site has access to natural water resources, reducing the need for extensive irrigation.