Highclare Estate
Time flies. It's been 10 years since Sydney-siders Matt and Sarah Hurst first set eyes on their 140ha property outside Hillwood. The former grazing land hadn't been worked for generations. Potential buyers had always knocked it back. There was no road, no water, no power. But the town planner and the advertising executive bought it any way.
The Hursts moved to the Tamar Valley and spent the next seven years learning cool-climate viticulture from scratch. Then there was re-fencing paddocks, installing trellising and re-vitalising soils before planting vines. More than 33,000 of them.
In 2023, the Hursts finally struck pay-dirt. The couple were rewarded with their first Highclare Estate vintage – proof that passion and perspiration are every bit as important as pedagogy when it comes to growing grapes and making wine.
Today, Chardonnay, Pinot Gris and Pinot Noir from the 10ha single vineyard site on Johnstons Road produce a suite of traditional method sparkling and dry table wines – for online sales, and for tasting and purchase at the Highclare Estate Wine Room in the Launceston CBD.
Visitors intending to spend time in the vibrant, gastronomic hub can indulge themselves in boutique accommodation at the two-bedroom Highclare Townhouse. It's located above the Wine Room. Directly opposite the gates of City Park. Launceston's thriving Harvest Market is just down the road, with the nearby Tamar Valley Wine Trail beckoning visitors to around two dozen vineyards on both sides of the river.
Highclare Estate is one of the recent success stories of Tamar Valley wine.
Once covered by grass so tall it obscured the view, the couple's elevated vineyard site – around 160m above sea level – basks in the long daylight hours during the growing seasons. Rich red soils over ancient doleritic lava are shallow and stony for the most part, supporting slow but flavour-packed ripening.
They don't offer much support for vine trellises, however. The Hursts had to bolt their vineyard posts directly onto rock below ground.
Viticulture is intensive and uncompromising on the challenging north-facing site. Traditional farming practices – low impact and sustainable – are now being supplemented by the grazing activities of a small flock of babydoll sheep that help with weed control.
All that noted, Highclare remains a work in progress, according to its owners.
Not just an estate of vines. An estate of anticipation seems more appropriate.
Key details:
- Matt Hurst: owner/operator
- Sarah Hurst: owner/operator
- Shane Holloway and Fran Austin: contract winemakers at Delamere Vineyards
Vineyard/cellar door address:
- Vineyard: 10 Johnstons Road, Hillwood TAS 7252
- Highclare Estate Wine Room: 68 Tamar Street, Launceston TAS 7250
Telephone:
+61 (0) 412 852 905
Email:
sarah.hurst@highclareestate.com.au
Website:
www.highclareestate.com.au
Tasmanian viticulture takes place within a diverse mix of soil types and microclimates.
Growing conditions in the Tamar Valley fall under the moderating influence of the river itself. Consider: Eversley Vines (MJT 17.7°C; 1065 GDD) and Evenfall (MJT 18.4°C; 1230 GDD). Coolest vs warmest sites.
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 Johnstons Road, 1995-2024:
- Total annual average rainfall: 815mm
- Growing season average rainfall (Oct 1-Apr 30): 373mm
- Average autumn rainfall: 187mm
- Mean January temperature: 18.2°C
- Growing degree-days: 1218 GDD
- Average no of hot days (35°C or more) per year: 0
- Average no of cold days (minimum 4°C or less) Sept 1-April 30: 10
*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