Robert Walters has, in a manner of speaking, gone where angels fear to tread. His daytime job is principal of Bibendum, a leading wine retailer of Australian and imported fine wines, and as agent for Stockinger, the Stradivarius of wine barrels and vats. Place of Changing Winds is his personal quest for the ultimate pinot noir (and chardonnay). He started with the idea of achieving planting densities akin to those of the Roman wine Falernian, wines of unequalled longevity and quality at their zenith.
However, he knew that a high density planting could fall on its own sword due to shading: insufficient sunshine penetrating the canopy of each vine to guarantee the ripeness of all the berries. He took four years to find a site with good rain, a climate that would give a long ripening season, and poor rocky soils. The result is small berries with intense flavour and small (50gm) bunches. Overall, the vineyard is 3.1 hectares with a total of 45,000 vines, mostly 12,000 and 14,000/ha, but with important parcels at 20,000, 25,000 and 33,000/ha.
To put these numbers in perspective, the vineyards of Bordeaux and Burgundy are 10,000 vines per hectare. Historically in Australia the density was determined by the size of the farm tractor (typically far too big), thus as little as 1500/ha, or as high as 4444/ha. This last density was achieved with a pattern of 1.5m between vines running along each row, and a row width of 1.5m.
In 1982 Brian Croser pioneered the 1.5m x 1.5m spacing of chardonnay in his Tiers Vineyard in the Piccadilly Valley district of the Adelaide Hills (part of Tapanappa Winery). He targeted 16 bunches of 100gm each, which gave rise to a (theoretical) yield of 7.2 tonnes per hectare, or 1.6kg per vine. Place of Changing Winds’ yield per vine was 0.2-0.25kg per vine.
Smallest doesn’t automatically mean best. The vines need to be in balance, grape quality stemming from just adequate nutrient and water. Bonsai? More difficult than that.
2021 Place of Changing Winds Larderdark Macedon Ranges Chardonnay
This wine is utterly, magnificently, intense and complex; the mouthfeel is exceptional, at first almost fleshy before saliva, aided by acidity, carves a concealed passage and you only realise the wine has disappeared when the glass is indeed empty.
99 points, drink to 2038, 13.9% alc, Diam, $125
2021 Place of Changing Winds Between Two Mountains Macedon Ranges Pinot Noir
Deep crimson-purple; it has an exotic perfumed bouquet, partly from the inclusion of one-third whole bunches, and partly from 18 months maturation in used Stockinger barrels. The power and length of the wine is extraordinary, and the ‘drink to’ date should prove conservative.
98 points, drink to 2040, 13.7% alc, Diam, $115
2021 Place of Changing Winds High Density Macedon Ranges Pinot Noir
Great clarity and depth of colour, and an extra layer of richness, with essence of dark berries, then red berries minutes later, the mouthfeel supple and smooth. The fruit was 90% destemmed, and post ferment was matured for 18 months in Stockinger oak (25% new).
98 points, drink to 2043, 13.8% alc, Diam, $185
