Clarence House Estate

The historic property of Clarence House dates back to colonial times, when the surrounding Clarence Plains district – now the Eastern Shore suburb of Rokeby – was part of a thriving food bowl, supplying produce to the 10,000 or so inhabitants of Hobart Town, some 10 miles away, on the other side of the river.

The Georgian sandstone homestead was built in 1830. It originally overlooked the estate's market garden on Pass Road, near Mount Rumney. The heritage-listed property was farmed by the Chipman family for more than a century until successive ownership delivered it into the hands of former cardiologist, Professor David Kilpatrick, in 1993.

Vines were first established on north-east facing slopes below the house in 1998. Today, the estate comprises around 16ha of vines. Chardonnay and Pinot Noir account for more than half the planted area. Other varieties include Pinot Blanc (probably the first in the State), Sauvignon Blanc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and a small amount of Tempranillo (another very early planting).

The vineyard lies in the foothills of the Meehan Range. Here dermosol soils derived from Jurassic dolerite and basalt combine with low rainfall and long mild ripening seasons to provide excellent growing conditions for cool-climate wine grapes.

The site is carefully managed, with sustainability top of mind. Systemic herbicides, insecticides and fungicides are not used. While under vine growth is slashed to maintain airflows and reduce frost risk, the inter-row sward is left to thrive and flower. The populations of beneficial mini-beasts that are supported not only increase biodiversity, they are able to act as biological control agents for vineyard pests such as light brown apple moth, sap-sucking scale insects and various damaging mites.

Fruit from the vineyard was initially sold to other industry players until Clarence House launched its own wine label in 2006. Nowadays, its estate-grown wines are made in nearby Cambridge by contract winemakers Anna Pooley and Justin Bubb. Their low-intervention approach aims to produce elegant varietal expressions of the site.

Kilpatrick maintains day-to-day involvement in the running of the estate. He lives on the property, along with his family. Visitors are likely to find him riding on the mower, tinkering in the toolshed, or loading wine into the LandCruiser.

His low-profile approach saw the 2015 Clarence House Pinot Noir raise industry eyebrows when the wine won both gold and the Chair of Judges Award at the 2016 National Wine Show in Canberra.

In 2022, the 2021 Clarence House Block 1 Pinot Noir went one better. It was named Australia's Best Pinot Noir at the Australian Pinot Noir Challenge. The 2020 Block 1 was a Regional Finalist and a gold medal winner the year before.

Block 1 was among five sites in the State that undertook industry trials of Pinot Noir clone 777 when it was first introduced into Tasmania in 2002. The selection has been a top performer at Clarence House ever since.

In 2025, the 2022 Clarence House Pinot Noir was named among the country's top Pinot Noirs by the Halliday Wine Companion, scoring 97 points from the tasting panel.

Estate and Reserve labels are supported by the entry-level Clarence Plains label, sold exclusively in Tasmania.

The former market garden has left an impressive legacy.

Key details:

• Professor David Kilpatrick: owner/operator
• Max Marriott: estate manager
• Mark Hoey: vineyard manager, Peak Viticulture
• Anna Pooley: contract winemaker
• Justin Bubb: contract winemaker

Vineyard/cellar door address:

193 Pass Road, Cambridge TAS 7170

No vineyard tastings or cellar door sales

Telephone:

+61 (3) 6247 7345

Email:

info@chwine.com.au

Website:

www.chwine.com.au

Tasmanian viticulture takes place within a diverse mix of soil types and microclimates.

Climate data* for sites in the Coal River Valley highlight the wide diversity of growing conditions here. Six Friends (MJT 15.9°C; 786 GDD); Pooley Cooinda Vale (MJT 16.8°C; 929 GDD); SISU (MJT 16.8°C; 929 GDD) figure among the coolest sites.

Richmond Park Estate and Strelley Farm Estate (both MJT 18.0°C; 1189 GDD) are considered to be among the warmest, along with Coal Valley Vineyard and Cross Rivulet Winery (both MJT 17.9°C; 1185 GDD).

Vineyard sites on the Australian mainland are far warmer than those in Tasmania.

South Australia's Piccadilly Valley* (MJT 20.4°C; 1730 GDD) and Macedon Ranges* (MJT 19.9°C; 1365 GDD) in Victoria are regarded as the coolest GIs in their respective states.

Climate data* for Pass Road, 1995-2024:

• Total annual average rainfall: 526mm
• Growing season average rainfall (Oct 1-Apr 30): 301mm
• Average autumn rainfall: 120mm
• Mean January temperature: 17.7°C
• Growing degree-days: 1149 GDD
• Average no of hot days (35°C or more) per year: 1
• Average no of cold days (minimum 4°C or less) Sept 1-April 30: 7

*Source: My Climate View, utilising past data from the Bureau of Meteorology and the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts. Funded by the Australian Government.

Last page update: January 2026