Description
WINNER: Best New Winery of the Year – 2022 Halliday Wine Companion and Best New Vineyard of the Year – Young Gun of Wine 2021
“Place of Changing Winds – the place and the vineyard – may well be the most exciting ‘new’ development in Australian wine. It will jump straight on to elite lists of Australian wine producers. You could describe this endeavour in one word: uncompromised.” Campbell Mattinson, The Wine Front
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.
This is the first Place of Changing Winds release from the soils and climate of Harcourt North in the Bendigo G.I. With its pure, sandy, granite soils and its mild climate, this specific place stands apart from the rest of Bendigo. It’s a vineyard that can grow wines of tremendous perfume and finesse, even if the 2021 is a deeper and more structured release, reflecting the season. The wine underwent almost two years of maturation: one year in neutral wood (barrique through to 1000-litre) and one year in an unlined concrete tank. Bottling was in late February 2023. The result is a wonderfully perfumed, yet layered Syrah with blackcurrant fruit, anise, bay leaf and thyme notes and a super-long, lingering finish. It reminds us of a top Morgon.
96 points, Huon Hooke, The Real Review “Deep red with a tinge of purple and a bouquet that is highly perfumed and emphasising floral/violet and fresh-herb aromas, brooding spices too, while the palate is very full bodied and concentrated, deep and firm, framed in robust tannins. A big strong wine with terrific structure for ageing, the plush fruit balanced perfectly by serious tannins. Impressive shiraz.”
94 points, Mike Bennie, The Wine Front “Very floral in the perfume, violets and lavender, whiffs of eucalyptus and loads of raspberry, cherry and strawberry, in a fog of scent too. Lots of concentration to taste but with a glossy wash of acidity under the tart red cherry, game meat, dried herbs and white pepper characters. Beautiful flavours, fine, satiny tannins, great extension of flavour, a cool, minty finish. Spot on medium weight fragrant and spicy style.”
16.5 points, jancisrobinson.com “Mid crimson with a pale rim. Very much Syrah rather than Gamay on the nose but there is a combination of juiciness and crispness on the palate that could indeed be a cru beaujolais. Serious, rewarding wine that’s not reminiscent of the northern Rhône but is a very valid, satisfying drink. Medium persistence. Very pure fruit. A hint of liquorice.”
95+ points, Erin Larkin, The Wine Advocate “On the nose, there is Earl Grey tea, lavender, crushed rocks, wafts of bergamot, raspberry, star anise and cracked fennel seeds. In the mouth, the wine is deeper and more seductive than the aromas suggest, tailing out over a long, lingering finish. There is a “quiet” note to this wine, pleasurable like ASMR. The tannins are gritty and black, chewy and succulent. This is very fine, and it will silk out further over time.”
RRP $62 Our Price $54.99 – LAST of this vintage!
(New Vintage also available. Click here for Special Buy)
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