Hillside, Polkolbin resells again at $4 million

Hunter Valley tourism entreprenuer Matt Cowley has sold his private Polkobin vineyard estate, Hillside for $4 million. 

The pavilion style home overlooking a lake at the 46-hectare property was recently bought by Victor Virgona and his wife Maree after being listed through Alan Jurd of Jurd's Real Estate.

It fetched the same price Matt paid for in 2010 when he bought the property from Francis Johnson and Patricia Hume, the HR entreprenuer pair.

Selling agent Alan Jurd acknowledged the marketplace for pricey lifestyle property in the Hunter Valley had been challenging ever since the global financial crisis in 2008, but was showing early signs of recovery. It also sold in 2005 at $4 million.

It's the highest weekender sale since nearby Verona sold earlier this year at around $3.8 million. 

The prior owners of the trophy Hillside estate included former Time magazine chief, late Ed Barnum and his wife Rena. He was distantly related to P.T. Barnum, the showman of Barnum and Bailey fame.

The four bedroom, four bathroom Hillside, set on Marrowbone Road, has a tennis court, pool and an expansive vineyard, which had been planted by winemaking family the Drayton's almost five decades ago. The vineyard produces shiraz, traminer, verdelho and chardonnay. 

Matt and father Ken, the former News Corp chief, sold their Tower Estates, which included the wine business, in 2013 to Michael Hope. 

They retain ownership of the up-scale hotel Peppers Convent along with its popular restaurant, Circa 1876.

Victor and Maree had been previously active too in Hunter Valley tourism with links to Pokolbin Village, but are best remembered as setting a $20 million Balmoral record in 2005.

This article was first published in the Saturday Daily Telegraph.