BINDI WINEGROWERS
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Newsletter September 2009
All six wines are available for immediate delivery.
2003 BINDI SPARKLING CHARDONNAY/PINOT NOIR $45
2008 BINDI QUARTZ CHARDONNAY $70
2008 BINDI ORIGINAL VINEYARD PINOT NOIR $70 2008 BINDI ORIGINAL VINEYARD PINOT NOIR HALF BOTTLES $38
2008 BINDI BLOCK 5 PINOT NOIR $92
2008 PYRETTE HEATHCOTE SHIRAZ $35
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. 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.
Following are details of some upcoming Bindi events:
•Bindi Dinner at Lake House on 17th October. If you are interested in attending please contact Lake House direct on
5348 3329 or info@lakehouse.com.au.
•Bindi Lunch in Vue de Monde’s private Bistro room on 14th November. If you are interested in attending please contact
Vue de Monde direct on 9691 3888 or www.vuedemonde.com.au.
For other news on events in the planning, please visit our website.
Bindi Winegrowers 343 Melton Road Gisborne VIC 3437 Ph/fax: (03) 5428 2564 www.bindiwines.com.au
BINDI WINEGROWERS
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For an overview on the 2008 growing season, please see the April newsletter which is available on our website.
2003 CHARDONNAY/PINOT NOIR SPARKLING The first disgorging of this wine after five years on lees. The nose is tight with some lemon, spice and cream nuances. The
palate is fine and racy. Certainly this no malo style has greater linearity! This wine is vivid and bright and immensely fine
in its complexity. It is deliciously dry and long. Three years plus in bottle will give greater texture and depth but it is delicious and vibrant right now.
2008 QUARTZ CHARDONNAY Perhaps the most powerful wine of the vintage. Here the vineyard speaks strongly and the nose is restrained in fruit (citrus
with white flowers thrown in). The mineral characters and complex nuttiness dominate. And the palate is emphatic with
outstanding volume and mouth feel. It is a very interesting Quartz and is even more than usual about stones and minerals.
In some ways it reminds me of Vouvray! It will drink particularly well over the next half dozen years and perhaps beyond.
Notes from winefront.com.au:
“The difference perspective can make. For the most part when talk turns to kangaroos - at a vineyard - the emphasis is on
their nuisance value. I’ve never seen so many kangaroos on a single property as I saw when I visited Bindi last week. Clouds
of them - well, almost. Bindi’s Michael Dhillon estimates their number at somewhere between 400 and 500. I thought
they looked gorgeous of course but I did the right thing and muttered something about “the kangaroo problem” (I live in
the country and listen to The Country Hour a lot, so I’m pretty savvy about this kind of thing). Michael Dhillon didn’t
quite react to my phrasing, but it caused him to hesitate. He then said words to the effect of, You could call it a problem,
or you could look at it as a good sign.
The 2008 Bindi Quartz Chardonnay. What can I say. It’s the best Bindi Quartz I have tasted. It comes on plush and full
and then turns minerally and taut. It has beautiful acid balance. And texture. And length. Nothing sticks out; it is what it
is. It has some mealy notes and some grapefruit-like notes. There are even some dusty notes. Quite clearly it tastes as
though it comes from somewhere. And it combines deliciousness, and class, with great aplomb.
Rated : 95 Points
Closure : Diam
Drink : 2010 - 2016”
2008 ORIGINAL VINEYARD PINOT NOIR The super creamy fragrance, opulence and clarity of fruit with underlying minerality and spice make this a gorgeous vintage of Original Vineyard. The palate is juicy, fresh, seamless and driven by fine, lovely fruit carrying tannin. For sure, it
will be a compelling wine to enjoy over the next few years but will develop into a sublime wine given four to six years.
There are elements here that are shared with the vintages 1998 and 2004: vintages that are noteworthy for their wonderful texture and ability to gain complex fragrance and finesse with medium term ageing.
Notes from winefront.com.au:
“Bindi’s Original Vineyard Pinot Noir is made from vines planted in 1988. ...It’s a smashing wine. All about focus. It has
some sweet, creamy, toasty oak but there’s everything there to support it. Chains of savoury tannin. Rose petals. Dark berries. Maybe some cola-like depth. And intense mineral edges. Or perhaps drives is a better word than edges. Swallow it
and gingery characters are left behind - intoxicatingly so. Ginger is part of its shtick. Beautiful proportion and control. A
powerful wine but a harnessed one.
Rated : 96 Points
Alcohol : 13.5%
Closure : Diam”
Bindi Winegrowers 343 Melton Road Gisborne VIC 3437 Ph/fax: (03) 5428 2564 www.bindiwines.com.au
BINDI WINEGROWERS
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2008 BLOCK 5 PINOT NOIR The typical differences between the Original Vineyard and Block 5 are evident in 2008. Here there is black fruit as well as
red; cherries and plums. It is a relatively backward nose but shows layers with ginger and nutmeg, earth and minerals.
The palate is deep, powerful, very intense and expands across the back palate. It drives long. Certainly half a dozen years
will add significant dimensions to both nose and palate. This wine will require a couple of years to settle in bottle and
will certainly build texture and finesse.
Notes from winefront.com.au:
“Terrifically mineral. Landmark Australian pinot noir. Toasty, spicy, savoury and intense - but then, from the mid-palate
onwards, it turns all aristocratic, pulling long and fine and boney. What gorgeous shape this wine has. It has an array of
fruit/berried flavours and complexity studded throughout. Length is not an issue. Just a ripper.
Rated : 97 Points
Closure : Diam
Drink : 2014 - 2022”
2008 PYRETTE HEATHCOTE SHIRAZ There is a pleasing consistency in the run of vintages of this wine we have been making since 2001. Here there is almost
a Chateauneuf like sweet fruit and mineral interplay. The nose is very fresh and pure with raspberry and dark plum characters underpinning a delicious fragrance. The palate is vibrant and driven and is showing a pleasing increase in structure
as the vines are a decade old now. This style of Shiraz, and Heathcote Shiraz at that, is interestingly finding an increasing
audience.
When we began making wine from this vineyard in 2001 we were asked why we were harvesting so early with fruit that
was not ‘physiologically ripe’ and why would we not be producing a sweeter, plumier style of wine. There’s an essay in this
I know but my preference is for wine that shows freshness, vibrancy, purity of red and dark fruits and is not dominated by
sweetness nor heavy, dry tannins. SEVEN VINTAGES OF BLOCK 5 PINOT NOIR
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.
Bindi Winegrowers 343 Melton Road Gisborne VIC 3437 Ph/fax: (03) 5428 2564 www.bindiwines.com.au
BINDI WINEGROWERS
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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 but 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.
Bindi Winegrowers 343 Melton Road Gisborne VIC 3437 Ph/fax: (03) 5428 2564 www.bindiwines.com.au
BINDI WINEGROWERS
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BURGUNDY TRIP JULY 2009
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.
Bindi Winegrowers 343 Melton Road Gisborne VIC 3437 Ph/fax: (03) 5428 2564 www.bindiwines.com.au