Bindi Wines

2012-01-24T02:28:00.000-08:00

The summer has finally emerged from another very wet spring. This growing season we have moved straight from a wet, warm spring to a cold, unstable early summer and now to the typical January weather we expect. Quite a change to last summer which had staggeringly high rainfall.

December, our important period requiring stable, warm weather for flowering, saw high winds, rain and cold snaps. Consequently, the crop level is quite reduced and our expectation is for a very moderate yield. Quality is, of course, our primary focus and we are hopeful of making some intense wine at low yields. We are looking at yields around three to four tonnes per hectare this year whereas our aim would be to crop around five tonnes per hectare.

We have recently racked and returned to barrel the 2011 wines post malo lactic and they are looking quite promising. It was a difficult year viticulture wise however the harvest, fermentations and barrel maturations have progressed very well. The chardonnays are mineral and intense with excellent length and balance. The pinot noirs are perfumed, spicy, textured and harmonious and will cellar very well. The Pyrette shiraz is deliciously mineral, earthy, complex, creamy and balanced.

We begin bottling some of the 2011s in late February and the remainder will be bottled in July.

2011-09-21T00:26:00.000-07:00

The vines are exiting their winter dormancy and we are joining them at the beginning of a new season's journey. The story of the 2012 season begins to be written.

The pruning was successfully completed in good time and the new canes wrapped down well before any sign of bud swell. Despite the difficulties of last season's challenging humid conditions the vines had good mature wood to use for this season's canes and we expect a consistent budburst. We have aerated the vineyard several times to open up the soil for air and moisture penetration and to alleviate the problem of compaction from using the tractor on saturated soils. This method creates punctures about 120mm deep in the mid row, about 250mm from the base of the vine, and three passes gives a very good coverage. Some superficial roots are cut and the structure of the soil is improved.

The 2011 vintage wines remain on heavy yeast lees in barrel and are at varying stages in regard to the completion of malo-lactic. The wines are looking very good and have excellent intensity and balance. It is, of course, early days for the 2011s but it is at least a very successful vintage which exhibits excellent fruit purity, intensity and balance. We must wait until the end of Spring and for the malos to be completed. The best indication will come post racking when the wines are taken off lees from barrel and returned to the cleaned barrels as they always look freshened up and more complete.

We are now releasing the last of the 2010s. The wines are showing quite well but are clearly very young and un-evolved. I expect the release to sell out rather quickly and apologise if we are unable to fulfill all orders satisfactorily. The reality is we have not increased our production while we have seen a large increase in our customer base.

Thank you for using our website and your interest in our wines.

Harvest 2011

2011-05-10T17:09:00.000-07:00

Amongst ourselves, and to some winemaking colleagues, we said we might not make it. Many didn't make it this year. There were a myriad of different challenges and anxieties to overcome and the feeling from November to April was that at any point the crop could be lost. This season more than any other we were ever focused and attentive to what the vineyard needed in response to the incredible weather conditions.

For eight years now we have not used any systemic fungicides. It is now six years since we have applied systemic/chemical sprays for weeds - now we use straw mulch and slashing. We do not use systemic applications to eradicate pests. Our focus has been to promote life forces rather than to apply death to control our vineyard environment. This year we held firm to this regime with the exception of two systemic fungicide applications, the first in eight years, to the foliage in December. There was a temptation to used anti botrytis fungal sprays on the ripening fruit but we had done so much work to have an open, clean, airy canopy we felt more comfortable to take the risk than spray. Also, we dropped 30% of the overall crop on the ground before veraison/ripening as we didn't want fruit on small shoots or in clumps where fruit ripening rates would be compromised and disease would be more likely to develop with bunches touching one another. Also, a larger crop would have required another week to 10 days of ripening and this was clearly not the season to risk exposing the fruit to extra adverse weather events.

As a reward for the hard work April provided some important warm, sunny classic autumnal weather and the flavours and sugars developed beautifully. The pickers were very diligent in removing any fruit not in optimal condition and the quality of the grapes arriving at the winery was quite remarkable. All the pinot noir has been pressed out post fermentation and is resting in barrel. There are still some barrels of chardonnay fermenting. Overall, the volume of wine is very reasonable (30 tonnes from 16 acres/6 hectares) and, whilst clearly early days, the style of the wines looks to be intense and balanced. For this stage the wines are representative of their site and usual style.

2011-03-16T18:56:00.000-07:00

The vineyard is patient. The vignerons must be also.

We have entered a period of nostalgia as we amble through a March that seems more like 1993 than 2011. The fruit is finally veraised. The nets are on. The vines are green. The fruit is exposed and healthy. The crop was thinned by 30% and what remains is calmly awaiting some sunshine. Hope is what we have. And an expectation of some testing weather but some confidence that our vines are able to work through the next four or five weeks to produce a worthy expression of the season and their unique place.

Tasting the three bottled 2010 wines has been a delightful contrast to the shocks of local and global maladies and the difficulty of this growing season. The level of perfume, intensity, fruit purity and harmony that 2010 has delivered is exceptionally pleasing. And the remaining 2010 wines in barrel continue to develop beautifully. Their stories are evolving slowly.

2011-02-18T03:08:00.000-08:00

Since when was the sub tropics moved to southern Victoria? The cool, elevated Macedon ranges felt like central Victoria for a decade and now we feel like grape growers in Byron Bay. Without the beach, sadly.

Dams that did not fill for a decade have continually overflowed from December to now. Long term, great for the landscape. Short term, a lot of focus on the vineyard with tractor work, shoot removal, fruit dropping, trimming and broken sleep wondering what the rain and humidity is doing to the canopy.

So far the vineyard is healthy and fruit is clean. We will see. The first veraising berry was seen yesterday so we are still 10 days away from getting right into the colour change and sugar accumulation phase. After that we will need around six weeks to achieve ripeness. It looks to be a long, humid, frustrating push to harvest. We will delay putting the bird nets on as long as possible so we can continue to work on the canopy. I was speaking with Stuart Anderson last week and asked if he'd ever seen a season like this in his 50 years of wine life. "Never' was the response. Sure, summer rain events and thunderstorms had highlighted some growing seasons but never the continual humidity and frequency of tropical weather being pushed south.

On a joyous note, we bottled the Composition Chardonnay, Composition Pinot Noir and Pyrette Shiraz from 2010 last Sunday and they are all looking to be of excellent quality. Sure, they now need several months to settle but the harmony and depth of the vintage is very pleasing and come release time in June they will be opening up again. The Quartz, Original Vineyard and Block 5 will be bottled in June and they have wonderful depth and structure.

2010-12-06T03:44:00.000-08:00

And then the rains came.

After a decade of well below average rainfall we are about to break the 1000mm mark. The decade prior to the long running drought we were used to totals around 750mm. What a remarkable surprise this spring has been. Dams that had not filled since the late 1990s have overflowed several times over. We have completely saturated soils that are so waterlogged we are having troubles getting the tractor into the vineyard. This is a long forgotten problem but given the long, long dry it's a healthy problem to have.

South Eastern Australia has welcomed the rain but less welcome has been the warm, humid conditions that are creating huge disease pressure. We have made many passes through the vineyard by hand to remove water shoots and shoots from the vines' crowns. The canopy is open and airy and any basic sulphur and copper applications are highly effective and we continue not to use any systemic sprays. So far, we have not had any outbreak of mildews. Timing in seasons like this is critical and timing has been made doubly difficult due to the wet ground and frequent thunderstorms and rain events.

The 2010 red wines are nearly through malo and ready for raking off lees. The chardonnays are still on lees and will also be racked in the next few months. The wines are showing a lot of power and intensity with particularly deep, long finishes. It will be very interesting to see their form after racking and being returned to barrel.

Yesterday we noticed the first sign of flowering and today there is a little more widespread. We require warm, even weather during this time and I note the forecast is for thunderstorms and wind. It really is that type of contrary season.

2010-10-02T20:28:00.000-07:00

The winter was so cold my fingers froze and I was unable to key any blog entries. Well almost, but not quite. Hybernation aside, we have had a brilliant traditional winter of cold and rain. Our dams are nearly full and the vineyard has superb soil moisture to begin the season.

The 2010 wines are still resting at winter temperatures of around 10 degrees but will soon begin to finish their malo lactic conversion (for the reds). Soon enough we will be racking and freshening the wines and getting a good take on their style and quality. At this point 2010 has very good intensity and concentration. Less suppleness than 2008, not the perfume of 2009 but structure and depth from an excellent season.

We have had our recently installed frost fan doing its work the past two nights. The leaves are not yet out however the pushing buds are still susceptible to plunging temperatures and the frigid reality of Spring time frost. Two nights ago we had minus 3.5 degrees 100m outside the vineyard and the fan worked perfectly by drawing down warm air (3.7 degrees at ten meters above ground level) and mixing into with the frosty air. We can expect some more events between now and early November.

The fifth edition of Langton's Classification has come out and we are pleased to have Block 5 and Original Vineyard included amongst the 123 wines. Twenty vintages in we feel we are maturing across the facets of our work and are looking to put our increasing understanding into ever more detailed, focused projects. More on that as it unfolds over the next few years.

For those who are passionate about Burgundy, food and travel please have a look at our friend Jillian Francis' website, www.tastesofburgundy.com. Jillian is working with some exceptionally talented chefs and has trod the ground, descended into the cellars and dined at some of the most inspiring tables in Burgundy to create a hedonistic experience.

The onset of Winter

2010-06-17T04:01:00.000-07:00

The vines are dormant and pruning has commenced. The ferments are done and the 2010 wines are peacefully resting in their barrels. It is a tranquil, if freezing, time of the year.

The 2010 Summer was characterised by slightly higher than average temperatures of which the feature was 120 days where the Melbourne maximum did not fall below 20 degrees. It certainly was not a hot summer and we only had one day above 40 and very few days in the mid 30s. The acidities are very good and the wines have a lovely intensity and tightness. The chardonnays are quite piercing and the Quartz is displaying a pleasing richness and power. The pinot noirs have clear varietal and vineyard expression and seem to have a deeper than usual tannin structure and drive. After the much reduced volume of 2009 we have a good volume of 2010 where yields were around the five tonnes per hectare.

We now have 27 solar panels adorning the winery roof harvesting the sun's energy. Pleasingly, the roof pretty much faces north and is clear of shading so it is an ideal location. It is a great pleasure to both see the panels basking in the light and to see the meter turning backwards as we put power back into the grid. This system will produce around three times as much power as we consume so we will be selling our excess to the power company. The payback period is expected to be between five to six years.

The other capital work going on presently is the installation of a ten metre high frost fan. We have used water sprinklers to combat spring frost for the last decade but with so little run off and a recently installed bore that is a bit too saline we have turned (!) to a turbine to protect the fragile spring shoots. Movement of air will work for most of the frosts (down to around minus 2) we experience but in the event of a black/inversion frost, where the above air is freezing as well as the ground air, we will revert to our sprinklers which will protect by continually applying water. As the water freezes energy is produced and stops the shoot/bud temperature falling below about -0.5. The vines look dramatic in the morning when they are covered in ice but the shoots remain undamaged.

There is always another project to take on. The old shearing shed is next in line, then there's about five kilometers of fencing that needs replacing. It'd be lovely to sneak in a few more acres of vines on a couple of outstanding sites just over the ridge from Block 5. One year we keep saying. One year!

2010-03-18T02:52:00.000-07:00

The contrast between February 2009 and 2010 could not be more dramatic. Last year we experienced four days over 40 degree whereas this year we have barely had a day over 30 degrees. A welcome added bonus has been over 70mm of rainfall which has help put the vines in excellent condition as we progress towards harvest. The weather has been, and continues to be, more indicative of mid to late Autumn conditions which is quite remarkable after the past four seasons. It is a very pleasing change.

The 2010 Pyrette Shiraz has fermented well and is resting in barrel. It has an outstanding colour, very deep and complex fruit aromatics and the tannins are becoming quite voluminous and quite fine. In another few weeks when it has begun to settle it will be really interesting to observe its personality.

On Saturday the 27th of February we bottled the 2009 Pyrette and the 2009 Bindi Composition Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. The wines have gone very well into bottle and I expect them to be looking fantastic when they are released in June. The Chardonnay is very vibrant and pure with wonderful intensity. The Pinot is gorgeous for its red fruits and spice and balance. The Shiraz is complex with red and dark cherries, earth and spice and has lovely flair and harmony. The 2009 Quartz, Original Vineyard and Block 5 remain in barrel and will be bottled in July for release in October.

We have also disgorged and packed some 2003 Chardonnay/Pinot Sparkling for release in June. It has had six years on lees and is super intense and focused.

Thankfully we have dodged the hail and are looking forward to harvesting the fruit this coming weekend. The vines are in excellent health: there is no disease despite the frequent rain and humid weather.

2010-01-26T16:01:00.000-08:00

The 2010 season is progressing well. We have completed our crop thinning and the first signs of colour change in a very few pinot noir berries is just appearing. We expect the full veraison to take place in the first week of February which indicates a harvest time towards the end of March. Next week we will begin putting out the nets to protect the ripening fruit from the birds.

I visited the Heathcote vineyard yesterday and the fruit is looking very good. The crop is around the 2.5 tonnes per acre mark (about 6 tonnes per hectare) and the canopy is full and green but certainly not dense or vigorous. The crop will be hand harvested around the 20th February.

The 2009 Composition wines and the 2009 Pyrette Shiraz are coming towards the end of their time in barrel and will be bottle on February the 27th. They are looking absolutely delicious and I am quite excited about their style and quality.

Happy New Year

2010-01-04T18:18:00.000-08:00

We enter a new year debating what to call it. Twenty Ten is what I'm going with. But I will accept Two Thousand and Ten!

The vines are looking excellent apart from some very minor hail damage from last week's thunderstorm. The loss would be well below half of one percent. The damaged berries are already drying up and will shortly fall from the bunch.

The season has been impressive for the consistent falls of good rain that are maintaining excellent soil moisture with the follow up of warm, dry weather that has kept disease pressure low. The canopy and fruit is in excellent health. We have already dropped some fruit from small canes and removed some lateral shoots on the eastern side of the canopy to allow for greater sunlight and air penetration. Even though we did not experience any shrivel or sunburn last February we are not doing any removal of shoots on the western side for fear of extreme heat and the possibility of sunburn.

Over the last two weeks we have racked all the 2009 wines for the first time off lees and sulphured them and returned them to barrel. The wines were on lees for around nine months. Now that they are settling down the true nature of each wine is more transparent and the quality of the vintage is evident. The wines are very intense and complex. There is a bit of 2005 following 2004 going on with 2009 following 2008. By this I mean a year of extra intensity and complexity following a vintage of super perfume and silkiness. That said, 2005 had more acidity where as 2009 has more tannin. Generalisations, of course, but it's always a interesting mindset to compare and interpret each new vintage in relation to those gone by.

We turn our thoughts to the netting early February, bottling 2009 Compositions and 2009 Pyrette late February and the receipt of the 2010 Pyrette Shiraz grapes late February, early March.

2009-11-26T00:46:00.000-08:00

The growing season is progressing very well after a cold start. Two exceptionally hot weeks in November have seen prolific shoot growth and the beginning of flowering (ten days earlier than usual). Over the past few days we have experienced nearly 100mm of rain which has provided perfect moisture levels for flowering. The forecast is for more rain over the next few days. For the first time this year we are experiencing some run off into dams. The only detractions from this timely rain are the possibility some berries will not set and the disease pressure will increase with the humidity.

We have made seven hand passes already in the vineyard. Three passes have been made to lift foliage wires to train the new growth vertically, one pass to remove water shoots/suckers and three passes have been made to remove superfluous shoots in the crown and on the spurs and canes. This then concentrates the vines' energies on the correct shoots' development and reduces canopy density. If the canopy is too dense light and air movement is restricted or blocked and disease pressure mounts. Further down the track fruit ripening is inconsistent as many of the bunches will be shaded. Also, a denser canopy requires more frequent, heavier spraying and perhaps use of non organic applications.

The 2008 wines are all sold out now and we are monitoring the maturation of the 2009s in barrel. The volumes in 2009 are down significantly. Soon we will begin to rack the reds off lees as the malo-lactic conversion is nearly completed and we will rack the chardonnays off lees and sulphur them up to keep them fresh after they have been building richness and texture over the winter.

2009-09-14T18:11:00.000-07:00

The 2010 season is commencing with the early warm weather (Melbourne 30 degrees on the 12th of September) as the buds are starting to push. I have seen green leaves out in Sunbury but we are still a week away. The last of the 2008s went into bottle in early August and are just beginning to settle down from the bottling. It is always an interesting time when one season's work is completed by the bottling as another commences with the bud movement (what journey will 2010 take us on?). And in between the two rests the 2009 vintage at 10 degrees in barrel.

The 2008s are generally looking very good at this point. The Composition wines released earlier in the year are beginning to show very well now. I expect that these recently bottled wines will take a further three months just to properly settle down in bottle. Please give them this time or if you must open any now give them time to breathe and understand that the wine will be very tight.

We are no longer using the imported La Baronne bottle from France. Despite this bottle being quite stunning its weight and the international shipping and extra packaging required posed too much of a contradiction to our values. In particular, the organic regime used for the past three years in the vineyard, the farm forestry project, our protection of over 100 acres of indigenous grasslands and use of only 100% renewable electricity made the use of this undoubtably beautiful bottle a rather odd inconsistency.

Seven Vintages of Block 5 Pinot Noir

2009-08-28T04:13:00.000-07:00

On Tuesday the 18th of August I enjoyed tasting and discussing seven vintages of Block 5 with Matthew Hansen's wine class at Carlton's Tre Bicchieri. The vintages ranged from just bottled 2008 to the first release, 1997.

2008 Block 5
Having been bottled ten days ago this is unfair on the wine but interesting to see where the wine is at and to see it next to 2004, a wine it shares a bit in common with. The nose is very spicy. Fresh ginger (observed in the ferment, like 2005, and not an oak flavour) with fragrant red fruits. Interestingly more dark fruits showed in barrel and they will build back as the wine settles in bottle. The palate is harmonious, fresh and zesty on the finish. It is very textural, sweet in pinot fruit and has a lovely flourish. It is reassuring to see the usual mineral tightness and drive on the mid to back palate. From a mild season experiencing well timed rainfall with a finishing burst of heat. Requires three years to really settle and evolve in bottle.

2007 Block 5
Here is a very deep, fleshy, spicy wine. There is also some earth and game complexity with a creamy, subtle choc-mint character. The palate is fresh, supple, fleshy, juicy and tightens with mineral grip on the finish. It is very harmonious. Due to the warm, dry season this wine is richer and shows more flesh that the others. This wine should be given three years to develop and will mature well for at least three more after that.

2005 Block 5
Immediately very complex, even profound. It is actually hard to pinpoint exact characters of complexity but the impression is of outstanding depth and power. Let me start with spice, earth, undergrowth, complex red and dark small berries and minerals. The palate is fresh, firm, dry and savoury, tight, mineral and long. There is a core of lovely sweet fruit and pressure on the back palate. Looking very good now but another five years will see further improvement and I suspect it will live well for another 15 years. The season was very cool but the final two weeks of ripening were very warm and built a lot of power into the fruit.

2004 Block 5
Here is a wine that looked just medium bodied after bottling and quite fragrant and perfumed without the obvious depth and power of wines like 2000 and 2005. Four years later it is absolutely hitting its straps and in this tasting showed as the Block 5 providing the most pleasure alongside the 1997. The nose is creamy and pure, delightfully fragrant with spices, red cherry and subtle strawberry notes. The palate is fresh and supple, beautifully textured and smooth with a typical mineral finish. It should hold like this for the next four or so years and continue to drink well for several years after that. From a moderate season like 2008 without the finishing burst of heat.

2002 Block 5
Perhaps our most challenging season ever? A very cold summer with rainfall at the most inappropriate times. This is quite a strong statement of pinot noir for its deep, sweet, herbal, spicy forest floor characters. The palate is round and supple then dry and grippy with a fresh, mineral end. It is quite different from the other wines. It is immediately more overtly complex but lacks the finer layers of the more regular vintages. Pleasingly the mineral back palate drive is there bit the usual striking harmony of Block 5 and flourish is less evident. It is not fading fast and should hold well for another five years.

2000 Block 5
This wine has always been a favourite. The issue is the more than usual incidence of cork taint. Which is a pity anytime but particularly for this fabulous vintage. The wine had some slight mustiness but showed sweet, herbal red and dark berry characters with complexing forest floor and spice. The palate is fleshy tight, very intense and driven with deep fruit purity. A good bottle of this is equal to any wine we have made and has a 20 year drinking window from vintage date.

1997 Block 5
The first bottling (there was one barrel from 1996 that went into the then Bindi Pinot Noir (now Original Vineyard)). The nose is hedonistic in its fragrance, ripeness and lovely complexity: herbs, flowers and sweet fruit. The palate is fresh, balanced, pure and creamy with a lovely mineral core and a long, smooth finish. At 12 years of age it is not tired and remains a beautiful wine that will continue to drink well for several more years.

The highlights for me from this tasting were the consistent mineral back palate of the wines expressing the vineyard site, the longevity of the wines in general and the ability of less powerful, structured years like 2004 to evolve to a point where there is so much more complexity, intensity and textural length. Pleasingly, despite the warm and dry years the site is clearly expressing the seasonal influences and the vineyard site.

Burgundy Trip July 2009

2009-08-25T20:29:00.000-07:00

I have been sifting through my notes from visiting 27 makers in Burgundy during July. Here are some brief thoughts.

I tasted over 400 wines, mostly 2007. There were many, many superb wines.

The 2007 whites are brilliant for their vitality and minerality and purity. I think at the moment the lower level wines are quite delicious and racy but will benefit from several years to build more weight. There is no question that the top wines require three plus years to flesh out and build around their very intense, oh so pure spine. What really struck me when comparing 2007 to 2006 and 2005 was just how specific to site they are and how rich and ready the other vintages looked. I guess 2007 could be labelled a purists vintage for whites.

The 2007 reds are so delicious, complex, balanced and harmonious. They (generalisation here) will all drink and live well for a decade and more. There is so much to like about 2007! The level of Pinot fruit purity is sensational (to my mind think 2006 and 2002). There is a lot of fresh, fragrant red berry fruit, often quite a deal of spice and lovely creaminess in 2007. In more profound vineyards there is, as expected, often an added edge of darker, deeper fruit expression.

The 2008s look deeper, richer and more structured in both whites and reds but the malos are slow and many wines are not resolved yet. I tasted some amazingly textured and deep whites with bracing acid. There is a lot of power and texture. Some producers were thrilled by the combination or fruit depth, acid and mouthfeel. Hedonists wines in many ways. But it is early days.

The 2008 reds are often very deep and powerful though the malos were normally not done and they started with high malic so they will become a bit more tame. I felt 2007 offered more purity and fragrance where as 2008 seemed darker and denser. We really must be careful not to judge too early so what are impressions of wines in barrel or just bottled should be seen in a general sense.

What came across strongly was that the attention to detail in the vineyard and the care being applied in the winery can provide an excellent opportunity to make stunning wines even when the vintage conditions are not perfect. It seems in Burgundy that imperfect weather during the growing season can be rendered unimportant if there are well timed periods of fine, dry, sunny weather post veraison. Both 2007 and 2008 are such instances. An interesting observation was made that the expression of terroir can be heightened in difficult (but not flawed) seasons where as perfect sunny seasons can stamp the wines with vintage, not the vineyard.

A few upcoming Bindi events

2009-07-15T00:49:00.000-07:00

The first is at Kyneton's fabulous Royal George (one Hat Age Good Food Guide 2009) featuring five local wines selected by Wine Australia as Landmark Australian wines. The Landmark event was a recent intensive presentation of Australia's greatest and most unique wines to twelve international wine professionals, including many Masters of Wine. The wines were selected, and tastings presented, by Max Allen, James Halliday, Brian Croser and many other journalists and winemakers. For more information please see www.landmark-wineaustralia.com

The second is a celebration of Bindi wine and Vue de Monde's food in their private room. We have had a long association, since Vue's earliest days in 2001 when Shannon Bennett began in Carlton. This relationship has progressed to the stage where for the past five years Bindi has grown and bottled a special Pinot Noir specifically for Vue de Monde. This lunch will be a lot of fun and will include Bindi 2003 Sparkling, Composition and Quartz Chardonnays, Bindi Vue de Monde and Block 5 Pinots and our Pyrette Heathcote Shiraz.

Landmark Wine Dinner, Royal George, Kyneton hosted by Max Allen
Date: Thursday 27th August
What: A five course dinner including Bindi Quartz and Block 5, Hanging Rock Macedon Sparkling Cuvee VIII, Cobaw Ridge Lagrein 2006 and Craiglee Shiraz 1990.
Host: Max Allen
Start time: 6.30pm for 7pm.
Cost: $135 per person
Bookings: neil@royalgeorge.com.au or phone : (03) 5422 1390

Bindi Wine lunch in Vue de Monde's private room in the Bistro
Date: Saturday 14th November
What: A four course lunch including matching Bindi wines
Start time: From 1pm
Cost: $150 per person, communal tables max 12 guests
Bookings: www.vuedemonde.com.au or phone (03) 9691 3888

Original Vineyard retrospective

2009-05-19T02:24:00.000-07:00

In the past two weeks I have conducted tastings in Melbourne and Sydney for wine trade customers featuring Bindi Original Vineyard Pinot Noir showcasing ten vintages from 1992 to 2008. The aim of these tastings was to show the ageing capacity of the wines, how vintage variation plays a role and how vine age has given the wines increasing depth. Four bottles were used for these tastings and these notes are compiled from both tastings to give a rounded overview.

1992
Our first Pinot Noir. This wine is surprisingly delicious considering it was made from four year old vines. There were under 50 dozen made. The nose is sweet with some spice and is deliciously fragrant. The palate is still fleshy with some tannin grip and shows good balance. It is past its peak but remains a delicious wine to enjoy. At 17 years of age it is quite a revelation.

1994
Four barrels, just under 100 dozen made. This wine has always been a standout for its depth of flavour and back palate richness. The nose is spicy and earthy with excellent fruit depth and complexity. The palate is strong and powerful and the finish is intense and long. It is quite a sublime wine to enjoy now.

1997
Soon after release this wine received widespread support but closed in somewhat and became quite restrained. It has slowly opened over the years and now is deeply spicy and has delicious sweet fruit. The palate is very intense, fresh and smooth and drives long. It has always been a favourite and the best bottles are still vigorous and will hold and maybe improve.

1999
From one of our most difficult vintages (frost and an erratic summer) at ten years of age it is drinking remarkably well and is not diminished. The nose is spicy and savoury with some herbal notes. The palate juicy in fruit, fresh and long. The tannins are tight and grainy and there are delicious creamy nuances. It is fully mature now.

2000
Whilst a restrained wine in its youth the 2000 has long been a favourite for its classical intensity, balance and purity. The downside is the corks were incredibly variable and bottle variation is high. When you strike one exactly as it should be there is pretty much no better Bindi Pinot Noir. It is deep in spice, earth and red and dark small berries. The palate is very intense and tight and long and is very complex. The best bottles are still young.

2004
All wines under Diam closure from this point. From an even summer with higher yields the 2004 is enjoying a beautiful moment. The nose is spicy and creamy with earth and sweet red fruits. The palate is seamless and seductive, delicious in its smooth texture and length. It will hold this form for another five years I expect.

2005
This is one of the more profound wines for its deep, dark flavours and restraint. It will take several more years to unfold. The palate is very intense, rich and powerful and the tannin carries the sweetness for a long finish. This wine has a decade in front of it.

2006
From a warmer vintage but not forward. This wine is very fragrant and pure with delicious sweet fruit and spice complexity. The palate is very fresh, supple and harmonious and carries long on the palate. It will improve for at least five years though it is such a gorgeous drink now!

2007
From the hottest, driest year it is a revelation to see a wine of bright red and dark fruits. It is in no way sweet nor loose knit. The nose has a remarkable depth of spice/ginger. The palate is voluminous and fleshy and is carried by supple tannin that builds and drives long. For the vines to produce such pure fruit in such tough conditions was incredibly pleasing and the wines has many years of improvement.

2008 barrel sample
This is a wine that presently shows characteristics between 2006 and 2007 but ultimately seems to have links more to 2004 and 2005. That's a complex equation! It is pure and expressive of cherries and strawberries with some deeper notes of earth and spice. I expect the nose to tighten and close up a bit more still. The palate is full and fresh with beautiful balance and flourish. It will drink extremely well young but as proven by this tasting, there will be no need to rush to consume it.

One of the overriding conclusions from the tasting was that even in more difficult, less classical years, the wines age well for a decade and deliver increased complexity and harmony. It is a folly to believe that because the wines are delicious and so accessible when young that they will not age extremely well.

The Daim closure. Apart from several Diam corks from a compromised batch (a factory packing error in a single batch that is unable to again occur) in 2004 (Block 5, Quartz and Original, not Compositions) we have been very impressed with our wines maturation from 2004. The wines are very consistent and there is no taint. Perhaps the only observation is that for the first minute or so the wines may appear closed on the nose and then open up. Last July I presented 48 bottles to 900 high end tasters at a sit down event in Oregon, USA, and the wines were all consistent and absolutely fine.

Michael Dhillon

2009-04-10T02:16:00.000-07:00

The crop has been harvested and picking finished on the 29th of March. The ferments are nearly complete as I write this and we begin pressing the Pinot Noir ferments tomorrow. The yield is below what we ideally aim for but not significantly. In the context of the myriad of trials experienced across the state during the 2009 growing season we are thrilled with the result. In 2009 the grapes developed their flavours and overall balance at lower sugar levels than in the past four years and the wines are showing a lot of intensity and drive. I believe they will be less textural as young wines than the pleasure laden 2008s but will develop very well over the medium term. It is very, very early days but it seems 2009 will yield wines of brightness and verve. The Chardonnays are displaying wonderful, vibrant, mouthwatering grapefruit and nectarine characters and the Pinots have racy red fruit and bright spice with fine, firm tannin drive (the skins were very thick and the berries small). It will be a great feeling when they are in barrel and resting over the winter.

Looking back over the summer the most immediate thought is that it was an extremely hot season due to the incredible maximum temperatures reached. However the vintage was actually twelve days later than 2008. And later than 2007 and 2006. We almost got back to picking in April! The cool December and January we mainly responsible and the even, mild weather in the second half of March saw a slow finish to the grape's flavour development.

Michael Dhillon

2009-03-07T18:08:00.000-08:00

Bindi news.

The week of sub 30 degree weather and 15mm of rain has settled our nerves and gifted the vines some respite from the debilitating heat of February. The fruit is fully veraised and the flavours and sugars are accumulating at a modest pace. The crop is not large and the canopy has held exceptionally well in the face of a heat and wind combination we've not experienced. My best guess at this point is that the harvest will begin in the last few days of March and progress into April.

In the past week or so two significant stages of the year have been reached. Last weekend we bottled the Bindi 2008 Composition Chardonnay and Composition Pinot Noir as well as the 2008 Pyrette Heathcote Shiraz. As done in the previous three vintages, we also bottled a special cuvee of Bindi 2008 Pinot Noir for restaurant Vue de Monde. All the wine was packaged straight off the bottling line and in the next few months we commence sales doth domestically and internationally. I am currently writing up tasting notes on these wines as well as barrel samples of the Quartz, Original Vineyard and Block 5 and the unfolding impression of the 2008 vintage is very exciting. In short, there are similarities to 2004 (fragrant and silken) with elements of 2005 (spice and intensity).

The other significant point reached it was the arrival and crushing of the 2009 Heathcote Shiraz last Monday. The vats have taken four days for the ambient yeasts to get working and as of this morning the winery is filled with yeast and fruit aromas. I am conscious of focusing on enjoying this intense period of the year for it is the exclamation mark at the end of a season's worth of hard work in the vineyard and mind. The life of a ferment and the sensory thrill they offer is relatively short lasting and the workload is unremitting so it can be understandably easy to just focus on coping rather than appreciating this exciting time. And the fruit? Colin Neate and his team in Heathcote have done a brilliant job in a significantly difficult season and quality of the balance, purity and length of the fruit flavour is very high. The canopy was healthy, as was the fruit at a modest yield (six tonnes per hectare). My initial impression is of depth with elegance and persistence. More, obviously, will be known in a couple of weeks after fermentation.

Last week I had the fabulous opportunity of be part of a panel with Ben Edwards from the Australian Sommeliers Association and Randall Pollard of Heart and Soil Imports presenting a masterclass of fine red Burgundy. The focus was principally on 2006 wines with a few 2005s thrown in to add perspective. As was the case at the Victorian Pinot Noir Workshop last November the wines from Etienne Grivot, Vosne Romanee, were absolutely outstanding. The previous week I had the good fortune to participate in a masterclass presented by Frederic Mugnier from Chambolle Musigny and this too was a stunning tasting for the expression of purity, balance and intensity on display. And 2006? A stunning vintage. For sure, 2005s are monumental but 2006 is more beautiful, at least for now and the next half dozen years.

It seemed, at least for a few days, that everywhere Frederic Mugnier went our paths crossed; at the Mornington Pinot Celebration, at the Musigny masterclass, at an enthusiasts private dinner and perhaps most interestingly for me, at Bindi. It was great to get Frederic's thoughts on our vines and wines and some important issues of vines and wine styles were discussed. The bunch and berry size and cropping level of MV6 Pinot Clone were discussed as Frederic is keen to take this clone to Burgundy. Why? He explained that studies he has been involved with looked at each vine in 40 hectares (400,000 vines) in an endeavour to find small bunch and berry size without excessive bunch tightness. The outcome was about 700 vines they were happy with and, in Frederic's words, none showed the outstanding qualities of MV6. I was stunned. We find MV6 to be an outstanding clone which naturally sets a very low yield and has exceptionally small bunch and berry size. It varies from block to block pointing to a high sensitivity to specific site; a good thing. In regard to wine matters, the quality known as tension is observable in very fine Burgundy and it is something that the wines from Mugnier are renowned for. When tasting several of our wines from barrel he gave a wry smile and acknowledged the tension in the wine. For me that notion is about life, vibrancy, intensity and the like. It is not about richness, flesh and juicy fruitiness. Tension and length. Mouthfeel and complexity. These are the things that make wine extra exciting to me.

Michael Dhillon

2009-02-18T13:35:00.000-08:00

Welcome to our website.

Finally, after eight years of ‘this is the year to get a site up’, it has happened. Sure, there’s been a lot on. Children, new vineyard, winery extensions, demanding seasons and the like are not really valid excuses but they are fair reasons not to address what has always been seen as an add on, a side line, a non core aspect of our farm, vineyard, winery and business.

That explanation will perhaps rile the astute wine marketers, the ‘make every post a winner’ proponents, those that can offer us some consultative insights into how to make our business really tick but there is a certain ‘of the land and farm’ logic to it. The reason we have been lax about building a website is that after attending to the vines, the wines, the market, the business and nurturing some human balance with family and friends the few of us here at Bindi simply haven’t had the time to commit to what a good site demands.

My desire for our site is to have it as a relatively dynamic source of current news about Bindi activities and general wine industry news and views. Previously there has not been the time to attend to updating a site and keeping it fresh and relevant; it seems only too easy to find a website where the current news is from 2006.

At least every few weeks there are either exciting changes in the vineyard, activities in the winery, travels through the global industry, inspirational wines tasted and enjoyed. My aim is not to create a definitive or comprehensive blog to attract the wine masses (I would be kidding myself if I aspired to that) but to offer some vitality and interest around what goes on in our sphere of wine and life here at Bindi.

I welcome your comments.

The past ten days have smudged and bludgeoned a smear of grey and black across Victoria and the nation. Including the wine industry. The newspapers, radio, internet and television have profoundly shouted the tragedy across the world. It has been a deeply saddening time and one for contemplating ways of helping and acknowledging our own good luck in not having the fires’ fury reeked upon us as it so very nearly was in Ash Wednesday, 1983.

I was immersed in some of this and other nation’s most delicious pinot noirs at the Mornington Peninsula International Pinot Noir Celebration on February, Friday the 6 when I became aware of the Premier’s warnings about the forecast diabolical looming heat and wind. Our farm had been under ember attack in the 43 degree heat of Ash Wednesday when the fire roared just down the road and the warnings were for a day of potentially greater danger. In a move that seemed a bit melodramatic at the time I decided to not attend the Saturday tastings (featuring Le Musigny et al from J.F. Mugnier no less) but rather return home to be on the farm and prepared in case of a bushfire.

Leaving the Peninsula the temperature was just under 20 degrees. Arriving home a few hours later, up in the hills at over 500 meters above sea level, the mid morning temperature had rocketed to 40 degrees. And the eerie, menacing wind had accelerated alarmingly. This was not a day for me to be tasting wine.

Wendy, Ruby, Emma and I went across the paddocks to my father Bill’s house on the farm located next to the winery and we sought some respite in the pool. The plan is to be at the winery if possible in a fire event for a multitude of reasons; it’s clear of bush by several hundred meters, has a stand alone diesel pump to protect the vineyard, house and winery and the fire proof barrel room is cut in against the side of the hill on the eastern side of the winery.

We came back to our house in the bush for lunch but by two o’clock the foul, sinister burn and dry of the day was too threatening to disrespect. We packed the car and left for the security of the winery and, again, the comfort of the pool. Sitting watching the kids thrill in the revitalizing therapy of the cool water provided a bizarre contrast to the full, healthy green leaves that were being stripped and blown from the vines such was the force of the north wind. The temperature was over 45 degrees and Radio 774 was bringing news of fires.

Our vines are, amazingly, pretty much unaffected by the extreme heat and are just beginning to ripen their fruit. Due to the cold and windy conditions experienced in early December the fruit set is very poor and 2009 will produce a small crop (around two and a half tonnes per hectare). The incredibly dry weather from mid December to now further retarded the crop’s development. This reality is not really perturbing to us as we are still here to do what we love, where we love it, the vines are healthy and 2008 (some nearing release) was high in quality and quite abundant.

We’ll have more news in a week or so. All the best,

Michael Dhillon