Erica and Kim at Loveblock follow their deeply held belief of organic farming, making and learning from mistakes over the past 15 years now sees a fruitful result of 84% of their 207-hectare family-owned estate is now either certified organic or officially in conversion to organic certification, this includes vineyards and general farmland. The estate farms and vineyards are located in the Awatrere Valley's Lower Dashwood area (Loveblock farm and Eros) and a smaller block in Bendigo, Central Otago (Someone's Darling).
The large Loveblock Farm has been under organic farming practises since 2008 and fully certified for the whole farming system in 2012.
The 45-hectare vineyard Eros is down the road from the Loveblock Farm; it was a field of stones before the development of the vineyard back in 2002. Modern machinery and technology enabled the team to manage this stony/ bouldered site, currently in conversion. Twenty years later, the site looks green and vibrant.
Planted in 2008, the 10-hectare Someone's Darling in the Bendigo sub-region of Central Otago is also managed organically and under its conversion phrase.
The newly released Loveblock Sauvignon Blanc 2021 is from Woolshed, a low-yielding, organic-certified single vineyard. The wine was made in a mixture of alternative fermentation and ageing vessels such as concrete eggs, clay amphorae and neutral oak to build texture, along with wild yeast at play. The wine is attractively savoury and complex with spice and textural details.
Read my full review below.
