Walsh and Poulson chose this spot for its raw potential. “We chose this site specifically for the soil profile – quartz, Ordovician soil, the altitude … true cool climate,” Walsh says. They were drawn to its 500m elevation and a microclimate that teases out flavour over the course of a slow growing season. It’s a north-facing slope, gentle enough to catch the sun without frying the fruit, rooted in ancient soils that drain fast and force the vines to dig deep for their water. They planted MV6, 777, and Pommard clones – all on their own roots – hand-selecting the clones for structure and aromatics. “MV6 provides structure and backbone, important in a
cool climate site; Pommard again is a strong cool climate clone, as it’s early ripening; 777 is powerful and aromatic with good tannin structure,” Walsh explains.
It’s a trio built for age-worthy pinot in a region colder than most expect. Ballarat logs more sunshine hours than Mornington or Burgundy but fewer heat units overall, which means late autumn picks are the norm instead of a rush to get fruit in as summer closes. “There are fewer and fewer regions in Australia that can claim the same,” Walsh says. The stridently continental climate of the region – warm days, icy nights – holds acidity tight. Picture late March here: the fog rolling off nearby ranges, vines still green, while Mornington’s picking wraps. In the right hands, the climate here delivers food-focused pinots with a quiet power – less plush than Geelong, yet less austere than Burgundy. Mon Climat’s north-facing slope aids photosynthesis; quartz flecks in the soil keep fruit lean, not lush. The long season is conducive to lignifying seeds and stalks for whole-bunch depth.
The choice to plant in such high density sets Mon Climat apart from other Ballarat pinots. Rows run east-west, vertical shoot positioning trellised with two foliage wires hugging a 500mm cordon – low to the ground, tight as a drum. “The natural competition created by the close planting provides us with small bunches which in turn gives us more intense fruit,” Walsh notes. The conditions cap yields at a measly 400g per vine. Such density remains a rare move in Australia, where wide rows and tractors rule – here, Walsh and Poulson literally have to crawl to prune. “Our goal for investing and planting a high density vineyard was always to produce grapes of extreme vibrancy and intensity, and we have found exactly that,” Walsh says. “Our first harvest from Mon Climat showed an intensity in the fruit we had never seen before in our other sites – small berries, high skin-to-flesh ratio, and incredible flavour.” Pinot this young shouldn’t flex like that, but Mon Climat’s lean soils and cold snap pulled it off.
That flavour comes from incredibly hard work. “This vineyard is hands down the hardest site we’ve ever worked,” Walsh says. The narrow rows and low cordon wire make mechanisation impossible. “It’s easier to crawl on hands and knees to prune and hand weed from vine to vine,” Walsh says – although there’s nothing ‘easy’ about it. One Sunday, wind blowing in sideways with a chill factor that pushed the temperature down to minus four degrees, Walsh’s wife Jane bailed – “I lost her for the day,” he grins. “A couple that prunes together, stays together,” they used to joke – but working a vineyard like Mon Climat tests that.
Soil is the Walshes’ obsession. “A healthy vineyard starts with the soil,” Walsh insists, so they’ve leaned hard into natural farming – ripping every second row for cover crops, piling on mulch, brewing compost teas to nudge the balance of microbes in the soil away from bacteria and towards fungi. “The hope [is] to maintain a healthy soil biology,” he says. They track their process via census: “We conduct worm counts, and have recorded a higher [level] of worm activity in recent years as our practices have improved.” They also monitor “beneficial bugs” – “spiders, ladybugs and native bees” – which they attract via cover crops. The end result is increased moisture retention and vibrant, living soils.
Having put in so much hard work to establish that soil health, Walsh rightly eschews any form of pesticide or herbicide on the site. “Farming without using herbicides or pesticides is hard work and initially seems expensive,” he says, “but like most things in viticulture it’s playing the long game. You will start to see the benefits of your labour in time.” It’s not just talk – those compost teas cycle nutrients, worms churn life through the soils, and the vibrancy of the pinot the Walshes coax out of their minuscule yields of fruit proves it. Walsh credits much of the end result to Luke Coulson, on board since 2022, who “has made a huge impact”: “His knowledge on organic farming and best practice, [and] our shared passion for making elegant, cool-climate European-style wines, has resulted in gains both the vineyard and the wine in bottle.”
In such a cool region, and in a vineyard planted to maximise hang time for flavour development, sustainability isn’t a buzzword – it’s survival. “Whatever we take from the site, we replace,” Walsh says. “Our vineyard philosophy is to try and create a closed circuit.” The Walshes compost the marc from their winemaking with straw made from grasses mown on site and manure, a closed loop that’s as much about grit as it is about being green. “Water efficiency is integral,” Walsh adds. “We have good rainfall and only irrigate when required.” They’re moving towards irrigating from the on-site dam to ease their reliance on tank water – smart in a region that gets 700mm rain per annum, but also brutal frosts. That frost is the vineyard’s bête noir – Walsh cites “the increased risk of spring frost” owing to climate change as the couple’s “biggest challenge.” They’re looking to install a frost fan to mitigate this risk.
“We see our efforts in the vineyard paying off in the glass already,” Walsh says. That $120 per bottle price point speaks volumes about the Walshes’ confidence – a bet on quality over scale. “The wines have a quiet confidence, restrained power, depth and incredible elegance, and [are] showing great ageing potential,” he adds. The quality here was evident before a drop of wine was produced. “The first time we took a juice sample, we were blown away by the structure,” Walsh says. “That’s when we really realised the choice in planting close was going to be worth it, as we hadn’t seen this kind of structure in juice samples before.”
What’s next for a vineyard that has already drawn the attention of collectors of premium Australian pinot noir? “We are continuing to grow this site with a Chardonnay planting” – currently three years old and about to start producing fruit – “and hopefully some more pinot noir and maybe even gamay down the track. It’s still early days, but we are seeing what we had always hoped for in this site – true cool climate wines of character and ageability,” Walsh says. A specialised Niko tractor, small enough for 1.2m rows, is on the wish list – it “would make our lives easier, save time and reduce labour costs.” For the time being, though, Walsh is hooked on “the close connection we have to the site.” “We know each and every row and all the variations from row one to 84,” Walsh says – a bond forged in frost and dirt, yielding premium pinot that speaks the virtues of Ballarat’s terroir louder than most.
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