Description
“Place of Changing Winds – the place and the vineyard – may well be the most exciting ‘new’ development in Australian wine… You could describe this endeavour in one word: uncompromised.” Campbell Mattinson, The Wine Front
“There is nothing like this in Australia, or even in Burgundy… No expense has been spared, and the level of detail is nothing short of extraordinary.” — Halliday Wine Companion★★★★★
Place of Changing Winds is the vineyard project of Bibendum’s founder and owner Robert Walters. It is a single site in the Macedon Ranges of Victoria where Walters and his team began planting in 2012. The POCW site is very close to Bindi and lies on the same geological belt with a proven track record for quality Pinot and Chardonnay. The vineyard is in a little hamlet called Bullengarook, between Mount Bullengarook and Mount Macedon, about one-hour north-west of Melbourne.
To understand how to establish and manage this kind of vineyard took a lot of research and has been the result of some 25 years of engagement with the best European growers. By the time the project was established, Rob, with his viticulturist and friend Tim Brown had visited Europe together five times, in order to meet with many of the most inspirational growers Rob knows, and finalising the planning of the vineyard.
Place of Changing Winds is a super-high density, organic certified, no-compromise vineyard, focused exclusively on producing the highest quality wines with the maximum expression of their quartz and sandstone riddled soils.
The vineyard lies in an area that was called Warekilla by the original inhabitants, the Wurundjeri people. In their language, Warekilla meant “Place of Changing Winds” – a characteristic of the site that still holds true today.
In addition to the vines they grow themselves, they also produce some Syrah and Marsanne from vines further north of their base, in the warmer and dryer climates of Heathcote, and, from 2021, Mount Alexander in Harcourt North. Both these sites are superb places to grow Rhone varietals, and in both cases they work very closely with the vineyard owner, who works to their organic specifications -they choose the harvest dates and all picking is done by hand.
The soils here are the famous ‘Cambrian soils’—red dirt made up of eroded basalt over limestone, shot through with greenstone and jasper. The wines were grown organically, without any chemical inputs, and with minimal irrigation.
About this wine: Made only in suitable years, this wine is inspired by the era-defining Syrah/Pinot blends crafted by Hunter legend Maurice O’Shea in the 1940s and ’50s. This release is a blend of 40% Pinot from estate vines and 60% Syrah from Heathcote and Harcourt. It spent the first year in a mix of large and small oak barrels, mostly neutral, with the last phase of aging in steel tank and 600-litre Stockinger cask. It was bottled at the end of November 2023. The result is a bright, perfumed, juicy wine. Although delicious now, it will certainly age well.
95 points, Campbell Mattinson, The Wine Front “It’s not heavy but there’s impressive intensity of flavour here. It tastes of sheer plum, dark chocolate, roasted nuts and sweet cherry, with woodsy spice and cedarwood characters as part of the veneer. There’s texture, there’s twigs, there’s pure, perfectly ripened fruit, and there’s a firm stamp of integrated tannin. There’s some char to the aftertaste, which is not a distraction and is not a negative. There’s a lot to delve into here. It’s excellent.”
95 points, Jane Faulkner, The Wine Companion “There’s a lot to consider and enjoy with this blend. A wonderful garnet-purple hue; aromatic with pepper and spice, charry oak and plums. Fuller bodied but, in a way, not a weighty wine as there’s such a brightness of fruit and a general vivacity throughout. Loads of tannins, textural and drying, with a hint of green walnut, yet all guided by tangy acidity en route to a fresh finish. And what to consider? The best food match.”
91 points, Huon Hooke, The Real Review “Deep red-purple colour; fresh and clean aromas, herbal and lightly peppered, a slight bunchy touch, the palate firm, medium-bodied and grippy, with a little bitterness. There are subtle red fruits too, in trhe background. Pleasant medium-full weighted red, the shiraz tending to run the show. (60/40 shiraz and pinot noir).”
93 points, Mike Bennie, The Wine Front “Here is 60% syrah from Heathcote and Harcourt with a bolstering remainder of pinot noir. A variety of vessels cajole the wine to bottle. This feels meaty and sleek in the same breath. A whiff of woody spices and undergrowth before a compote of forest berries with a high note of tart cherry. Similar to taste, a sluice of fine, grainy tannin in tow, on medium weight and very persistent. It’s a slurpier red with plenty of charisma and high drinkability.”
RRP $68 *Our Special Price $55.99 when you buy 6 or more of this wine
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