McLaren Vale

Leconfield's wines are based on a simple philosophy – great wines are crafted from great vineyards.
By retaining control and ownership of our estate, we are able to ensure the health of the vines, and continuity of fruit quality.
Both the McLaren Vale and Coonawarra estates are run by experienced and dedicated teams, led by Vineyard Supervisor Lee Harding in McLaren Vale and Vineyard Supervisor Bendt Rasmussen in Coonawarra.

A passion for horticulture and mechanics sparked Lee's interest in viticulture. With over 12 years' experience in both the Adelaide Hills and McLaren Vale regions, Lee has been with the company since 2001. 

He is responsible for management of all operations of the
McLaren Vale vineyards and works closely with winemaker Paul Gordon to ensure the vines maintain good health and produce optimum fruit quality. 

Lee has an encyclopaedic knowledge of viticulture, soil structures and microclimates of the individual vineyards, as well as the seasonal weather patterns of the region - imperative to providing the right duty of care in differing conditions.

The Hut Block Vineyard is aptly named after the old pickers hut situated on the property. Located along McMurtrie Road in McLaren Vale the vineyard contains our oldest vines, the 114 year old Centurion Shiraz, dry grown and planted in 1892. These vines are amongst the oldest in McLaren Vale. The Chardonnay found in this vineyard is trellised on the unique 'Lyre Trellis' system. This specific type of trellis created by Dr Richard Hamilton is 'V' shaped. This trellis trains the vines in such a way that the foliage provides adequate shading for the fruit while still allowing for substantial sunlight infiltration; this aids in the ripening process and produces a higher quality fruit. 

The soil structure in Hut Block Vineyard is sand over clay and limestone – black cracking – sandy clay loam. 

The total vineyard area is 20.1 Hectares/48.6 Acres

The Winery Block is located between Main and Malpas Roads, Willunga and is home to the oldest chardonnay vines in McLaren Vale, planted in 1972. The vineyard also contains non-trellised bush Grenache (1948) and Shiraz (1963) planted by Richard's father, Burton. A percentage of older vines in this vineyard are non-irrigated (dry grown). This produces, due to the lack of water, small intensely flavoured fruit; for which Richard Hamilton wines are renowned. 

The site is home to the original Richard Hamilton Cellar Door. The winery, before operations moved to Coonawarra in 1982 was also located here. The Soil Structure of the Winery Block is grey silty loam over clay. 

The total vineyard area is 15 Hectares /36.6 Acres

Farm Block Vineyard surrounds the McLaren Vale Cellar Door, Head Office and McLaren Vale Vineyard Office, between the corners of Main and Johnston Roads. 

The site produces the majority of our award-winning Shiraz. The soil structure of Farm Block vineyard is black cracking over calcareous clay and red loam over clay and limestone. 

The total vineyard area is 22.2 hectares/54.9 acres

Little Road Vineyard is located between Main and Little Roads, Willunga and contains clones of Chapoutier Shiraz from France.

The soil composition in Little Road Vineyard is red brown loam with river pebbles over clay.

The total vineyard area is 7.7 hectares/18.9 acres