2021 Place of Changing Winds Harcourt Marsanne Organic, Bendigo

Really textural, rich and potent, a savoury edge and more on the preserved lemon, ginger, buttery honey toast with cool acidity underlying. It’s very complex, a layered and intense experience with Serious White Wine written all over it. Mouth-coating and lush in the most wonderful sense. Multi-dimensional wine. A full and fantastic white wine. 

94 points Mike Bennie winefront.com.au

This year the Marsanne comes from the same vineyard as the Harcourt Syrah. There is also a fair dollop of Roussanne in the blend, from the same site. Following previous practice with this wine, the grapes were picked fully ripe, pressed hard and sent straight to barrel (500 and 228-litre) for fermentation and aging. Primary fermentation and malolactic were left to happen naturally. After 12 months in cask, the wine was racked to tank for an additional 10 months, before the wine was bottled at the start of February 2023.
 
As with previous releases, this wine is the opposite of what you would typically expect of an Australian Marsanne regarding harvesting dates, winemaking and style. It will certainly age well—gaining more and more honeyed characters—but it’s delicious now. Rob and Remi believe this to be their best ‘Rhône’ white thus far. Who are we to disagree? It has the same power and richness of previous releases yet with perhaps more vibrancy thanks to Harcourt’s granitic soils and climate, as well as the inclusion of some Roussanne.

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!

We also produce two Syrah cuvées and a 100% Marsanne that come from an organically managed plot of vines in the Heathcote region (about 130 kilometres north of our cellars).

placeofchangingwinds.com.au