Lime Rock Wines is a small but stunning nine-hectare vineyard on limestone hills in central Hawke’s Bay that punches well above its weight.
Specialising in pinot noir, which is unusual for Hawke’s Bay, they also produce aromatics and they’re perhaps the only North Island New Zealand producer of Grüner Veltliner, a grape variety grown predominantly in Austria.
The vineyard has collected five-star reviews from New Zealand’s most acclaimed wine writer, Michael Cooper, who has also declared their Grüner Veltliner wine as a rare, potential classic. The wines are available in some of Auckland’s top restaurants including Josh Emmett’s Onslow and the Oyster Inn on Waiheke, as well as in Hawke’s Bay’s Piku, Bistronomy and Napier’s Central Fire Station.
At the vineyard’s helm is Rosie Butler, a wine-maker with a laboratory background who started in the industry in 1974 at Montana Wines and helped with the first two vintages in Marlborough. After furthering her Winemaking and viticulture studies at Roseworthy College in South Australia, where she met her husband Rodger Tynan, she returned to Montana for five more years. She then returned to Adelaide where she worked at Petaluma Winery in the Adelaide Hills, and other wineries, and taught wine appreciation. Rodger was working in the outback as a rangeland ecologist with the South Australian Environment Department.
In 2000, when Rosie’s brother suggested they return to the family farm in Waipawa to develop a vineyard on a steep limestone slope that was less suitable for grazing, they leapt at the chance. With Rosie’s wine-making experience and Rodger’s ecological background, it was the perfect challenge for the pair who appreciated the unique site with its soft, three-million-year-old limestone, high altitude and sunny north-facing slopes.
Their idea was to produce wines that truly expressed the environment and they set about planting in a more sustainable way. That meant no under-vine cultivation to control weeds, but allowing them to grow to provide habitat for beneficial insects that help to control vineyard pests. They planted using a water-jet to make holes for the vines, so no ripping of the soil that could lead to water erosion down the slopes. These vineyard practices aimed to protect ecological processes in the soil and to maintain the vineyard as an ecosystem. Rodger even invented a new word to call this: ‘vit-ecology’ instead of viticulture.
“We were ahead of the time,” explains Rosie, “as some top vineyards, such as in the Gimblett Gravels, now do the same.”
They also planted native trees and shrubs like hebes for biodiversity and to provide winter habitat and food for beneficial insects, such as parasitic wasps that help to control caterpillars. Small white flowering plants (alyssum) grow at the end of the rows to provide a corridor of pollen and nectar for parasitic wasps and other insects.
Back in 2001 not a lot of sophisticated virus testing had been carried out on rootstocks so they sourced vine cuttings from the Hawke’s Bay Wine Improvement Group and planted these on their own roots without grafting on to rootstock. They were also careful to use methods designed to reduce the chances of viruses and other pathogens from entering the vineyard.
The location, far from most other Hawke’s Bay vineyards, proved a challenge and the fact they produce mainly pinot noir – a variety more common in Martinborough and Central Otago – meant they were not part of the Hawke’s Bay wine branding story which talks about chardonnay, syrah and cab merlot.
So Rodger and Rosie had to think outside the box just to get noticed.
They developed The Limestone Loop – a series of top things to see and do – to bring people to the area. “We thought, if you give people a loop to drive around, they’ll come and visit.”
The trail around the Raukawa Range, via State Highway 2 and back via State Highway 50 and Tikokino, showcases award-winning wineries, local shops, original homesteads, cafes and markets giving insights into the region’s history.
In many ways, Lime Rock Wines has its own distinctive story to tell.
“It’s rare to have a limestone site with north-facing hills sloping from an altitude of 270m to down to 230m. We keep grass mown in the frost season so the cold air drains away. That’s an advantage as they don’t get frosts. The limestone is free draining and adds structure and flavour to their wines.
“Because of the altitude, we’re about three weeks behind northern Hawke’s Bay production.”
And while they produce pinot noir, it’s a different style from the rest of New Zealand, more like those from Burgundy in France.
“But it’s the limestone that makes us very special,” says Rosie.
As you look around the cellar door, a huge fossilised oyster shell nestles among the wines on display. It’s one of a few precious shells they found while working the limestone.
“Because the soil is full of organic seashell matter, you can almost get a lick of oyster when you taste our wines,” smiles Rosie.
You sense, although it has been a lot of work, developing this vineyard has been a labour of love. Theirs is a passion borne of a deep love for the land.
“I always thought it would be amazing,” says Rosie. “It’s not posh. They’re very natural surrounds – just a shed with a cellar door and we can have functions here. People feel relaxed when they come.”
One of the first thing Rosie does when people arrive is to drive you to the top of the hill so you can look down on the sweeping curve of the rows. When the leaves on the vines have turned gold in the autumn, it has an indescribable beauty. And the expansive view across the plains to the Ruahine Ranges is breathtaking.
Rosie and Rodger produce extraordinary, sophisticated wines. They’re up there with the best in the world. Lime Rock Wines vineyard in Waipawa is truly worth a visit, even if you don’t do the loop. Give them a call.
However, after 20 years of coaxing the vineyard to perfection, it’s time to move on and this unique little gem is for sale.
