2022 Place of Changing Winds Tradition Red Organic, Heathcote

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 Campbell Mattinson winefront.com.au

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.

93 points Mike Bennie winefront.com.au

Place of Changing Winds is an organic, high-density vineyard located in Bullengarook, a small hamlet in the Macedon Ranges of Victoria. Changing Winds takes its name from the original inhabitants, the Wurundjeri people, who named the place where the vines are currently planted Warekilla (or Place of Changing Winds). This characteristic still holds true today.

Situated at 500 metres above sea level, the ancient soils here are riddled with quartz, quartzite and sandstone and only Pinot Noir and Chardonnay is grown. The vines are planted very closely at a range of densities—from 12,000 to 33,000 vines/ha. The average density is over 15,000 vines/ha. Through decades of research and engagement we have developed our own version of organic practice, a model specifically adapted to our place and our vision. This model is designed to produce wines of the highest possible quality and the maximum expression of place. Our motto: no compromise, no regrets!'

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.