Vineyards

The Shays Flat vineyard is an iconic part of the LATTAvino journey this is where the story for this little négociant wine project all started.

Way back in 2007 I was working vintage in the Pyrenees when some Sangiovese arrived in the winery for processing, it was from the Landsborough Valley a place mostly know for shiraz. I’d only ever really worked closely with Pinot Noir & Chardonnay from our own vineyard Eastern Peake, so it was a real pleasure to see this beautiful fruit, so different and so interesting.

In 2010 I reached out to see if I could buy a little of this Sangiovese which was now owned by Chapouiter and farmed organically. I continued to work with the site bootlegging the wines off to friends & family when the decision was made to get a lot more serious. Vintage 2013 was the linchpin to launch the Latta Label with this Sangiovese & a collection of other single site wines. A revolution was taking place within the wine industry to move away from conventional farming & using less in the cellar, fresh eyes & warm hearts I was totally all in on becoming part of the movement.

The vineyard is located at Shays Flat in the Western end of the Victorian Pyrenees ranges, deep in the Landsborough Valley the site sits at 350m altitude on an east facing ridge with the southern foothills of the valley making way for a natural amphitheatre.

This is one of my favourite sites to work with, there’s only one white varietal grown on this property & that would be Sauvignon Blanc.

Tended by Geoff & Julie Mullen in Moonambel, Pyrenees.

It’s a beautiful south facing slope, row orientation north-south, surrounded by disorganised chaos in the best kind of way. Sitting at 330m altitude & planted with clone F4V6. This is a very good vineyard, in a very unique location hidden away from the passerby’s, slightly off the beaten track, you’d never know it existed. 100% dry farmed solely relying on rainfall, heavy quartz & Ironstone over red/grey clays, minimal top soil. 

Sourced from long term growers the Lacey Family located over Tarrington way in far south west Victoria. The site was stablished in the late 90s which produces Fantastic Pinot Gris, Chardonnay & Pinot Noir. Season 2024 was excellent, this is one of the best Gris's to date! (As a side note, when the Pinot Gris here was planted the variety was still considered an alternative varietal on the Australian wine scene. The Laceys were contract growers of Pinot Gris for a large wine brand seeking out perfect sites in the late 90s amazing to see how far Pinot Gris/Grigio has come in 25 yrs)