Bindi News

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 Read more …

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 Read more …

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 Read more …

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 Read more …

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 Read more …

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 Read more …

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 Read more …

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 Read more …

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 Read more …

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 Read more …