A textural, flavour-intense but light-footed wine, this is loaded with orchard fruits, smoky minerals and waxy notes.
Producer
Place of Changing Winds
Region
Heathcote
RRP
$38
Vintage
2019
Variety/Varieties
Marsanne
Alc./Vol.
13%
Place of Changing Windsâ RhĂ´ne-inspired Heathcote venture is anchored in syrah, but â even though itâs just the first release â marsanne is certainly not taking a backseat. A textural, flavour-intense but light-footed wine, this is loaded with orchard fruits, smoky minerals and waxy notes.
Tasting note
Golden in colour, the nose opens with ripe orchard fruits, rich golden apples, poached pears, roasted nuts, waxiness, honey and smoky mineral notes. This has a saline slip to the texture, with a generosity of flavour and texture that reads as neither big nor broad, just loaded with mouth-filling flavour and a silky gliding quality to the way it drinks, acidity a gentle but present guide.
Themes of this wine
Marsanne
A grape most commonly associated with the Northern RhĂ´ne, though it features in the south, marsanne has also carved a small be significant niche in Australian wine folklore. With vines planted in 1927, Victoriaâs Tahbilk lays claim to some of the oldest, if not the oldest, marsanne vines in the world. And the wines have proved to age incredibly well, as they can in the RhĂ´ne. Flavours can range through pear, apple and citrus, with nutty and toasty development over time, as well as a varietally distinctive honeysuckle character.
Heathcote
Heathcote is rugged country, a tinder-dry landscape of rusty iron-rich soils littered with sculpturally stacked granitic boulders. Itâs mythical territory, ancient land, and home to some of the worldâs oldest viticultural soils. But as a wine region, it is a relatively young one, which saw an explosion of growth in the 90s. Shiraz led the charge, and it became Victoriaâs answer to the Barossa or McLaren Vale, producing wines of significant power. But Heathcote is very different to both those places, and it is not that easily defined. Today, shiraz finds myriad expressions, and many other varieties are taking a firm grip, especially those suited to dry and warm climes.
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Picked ultra-fresh, this rendition of the great Friulian grape is alive with citrus, apple and herb flavours borne along an electric rail of acidity.
Producer
Region
Heathcote
RRP
$28
Vintage
2020
Variety/Varieties
Ribolla gialla
Alc./Vol.
11.5%
Chalmersâ Dott wines are built to challenge the idea that grapes traditionally grown in Italyâs generally cooler north canât thrive in more arid climes, like Heathcote. Picked ultra-fresh, this rendition of the great Friulian grape is alive with citrus, apple and herb flavours borne along an electric rail of acidity.
Tasting note
With a noticeably pale greenish colour, this also registers at a low 11.5% alcohol. The nose is driven by cool flavours of cut herbs, hops, tart green apple, grapefruit, lime pith and chilled cucumber. The palate echoes the nose, with the wine sitting light and vibrant in the mouth, bustling along with vibrant citric acidity and a drying pucker, offering amply quenching refreshment value.
Themes of this wine
Ribolla Gialla
A grape native to Friuli in north-western Italy and bordering Slovenia, ribolla gialla is often used in blends, where is contributes citrus notes and plenty of acidity. It is also a grape that has commonly been used to make skin-contact wines, becoming something of a darling of the Italian natural wine movement.
Heathcote
Heathcote is rugged country, a tinder-dry landscape of rusty iron-rich soils littered with sculpturally stacked granitic boulders. Itâs mythical territory, ancient land, and home to some of the worldâs oldest viticultural soils. But as a wine region, it is a relatively young one, which saw an explosion of growth in the 90s. Shiraz led the charge, and it became Victoriaâs answer to the Barossa or McLaren Vale, producing wines of significant power. But Heathcote is very different to both those places, and it is not that easily defined. Today, shiraz finds myriad expressions, and many other varieties are taking a firm grip, especially those suited to dry and warm climes.
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This is bursting with spice and wild fruits, with an underlying signature of regional minerality.
Producer
Place of Changing Winds
Region
Heathcote
RRP
$44
Vintage
2019
Variety/Varieties
Shiraz (Syrah)
Alc./Vol.
13%
While the home site in Macedon is a ground-breaking ultra-close-planted vineyard, Place of Changing Windsâ Rob Walters has been making Heathcote syrah for over a decade, emphasising the fragrant, spicy side of the grape, as well as Heathcoteâs under-explored potential for elegance. From an organic vineyard in the Mount Camel Range, this is bursting with spice and wild fruits, with an underlying signature of regional minerality.
Tasting note
Made with 100 per cent whole bunches, this has ample spice and savoury complexity, but itâs not stalky as such, rather it lends the intense fruit and regional notes of cracked earth an engaging counterpoint, with meaty, smoky detail, a rusty ferrous note and black tea against red and black berries, dark plum and smashed cherries. This sits midweight, bright and vibrant but complex and layered, with it neither fruity or overtly savoury, oak is not an apparent factor, with pithy grapey tannins directing the wine savoury and long.
Themes of this wine
Syrah/shiraz
Shiraz dominates the Australian wine industry, accounting for nearly a third of this countryâs vines. The grapeâs traditional home is in Franceâs Northern RhĂ´ne, with wines that combine elegance and power, while Australia is perhaps best known for the muscular styles from warmer areas. Today, drinkers of Australian shiraz are spoilt for choice with expressions ranging from the elegant and spicy to the monumental.
Heathcote
Heathcote is rugged country, a tinder-dry landscape of rusty iron-rich soils littered with sculpturally stacked granitic boulders. Itâs mythical territory, ancient land, and home to some of the worldâs oldest viticultural soils. But as a wine region, it is a relatively young one, which saw an explosion of growth in the 90s. Shiraz led the charge, and it became Victoriaâs answer to the Barossa or McLaren Vale, producing wines of significant power. But Heathcote is very different to both those places, and it is not that easily defined. Today, shiraz finds myriad expressions, and many other varieties are taking a firm grip, especially those suited to dry and warm climes.
Whole bunch
Before grapes are fermented, they are often de-stemmed, but they can also be left as whole bunches. Some winemakers will include a small or large portion in their ferments, with the rest destemmed, or less commonly they will leave all bunches intact. The impact of fermenting with whole bunches will create slightly different flavour profiles than if destemmed, with the grape stalks adding spice notes, and sometimes a green stemmy character, while also bringing in more tannin, and tannin with a different feel and texture to grape skin/seed or oak tannin. And while these added characters are quite savoury, the grapes in a ferment like this often remain whole for longer, meaning they start fermenting inside the berries first, which can bring a very bright fruit profile to the flavour mix. Any grape variety can be fermented with whole bunches, even white ones, but the technique is most associated with pinot noir, shiraz, gamay and grenache.
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A riot of spice, wild berries and floral notes on a slippery but taut midweight frame.
Producer
Chalmers
Region
Heathcote
RRP
$28
Vintage
2018
Variety/Varieties
Schioppettino
Alc./Vol.
14%
An Italian variety that youâve never heard of? Itâs got to be a Chalmers wine. And itâs another brilliant drink crafted by Bart van Olphen, a riot of spice, wild berries and floral notes on a slippery but taut midweight frame.
Tasting note
This is a fascinating tangle of dark wild berries â some quite ripe, some on the sour side â and a brush of soft herbs and dusky florals, with a dusting of brown spice, white pepper, coffee grounds and amaro herbs, touching on liquorice. The palate dips into preserved cherries, with those layers of spice and herby things adding plenty of detail, the wine carrying in a sinewy way, tannins and acidity wound into a viscous texture that is mouth coating but tightly arranged.
Themes of this wine
Schioppettino
A relatively rare grape even in its native Friuli, Italy, schioppettino has been slowly pulled back from the brink of extinction after a low point in the middle of the 20th century. Today, there are some 150 hectares in Italy, ensuring its survival but hardly making it a household name. It is characterised by peppery aromatics, mixed with red fruits and red and blue floral notes. Generally midweight, schioppettino can be nonetheless quite fruit intense while holding bright acidity.
Heathcote
Heathcote is rugged country, a tinder-dry landscape of rusty iron-rich soils littered with sculpturally stacked granitic boulders. Itâs mythical territory, ancient land, and home to some of the worldâs oldest viticultural soils. But as a wine region, it is a relatively young one, which saw an explosion of growth in the 90s. Shiraz led the charge, and it became Victoriaâs answer to the Barossa or McLaren Vale, producing wines of significant power. But Heathcote is very different to both those places, and it is not that easily defined. Today, shiraz finds myriad expressions, and many other varieties are taking a firm grip, especially those suited to dry and warm climes.
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Jean-Paul Trijsburg farms a small pinot noir vineyard in the Ballarat region for his Jean-Paul label, while also sourcing fruit from across central Victorian vineyards, making diverse styles, from vermouth, to red pÊt-nats, to a carmÊnère and a more classic offering of pinot noir and cool climate syrah. Year on year, the range has expanded, with even more cuvÊes planned for the 2023 vintage.
Producer
Region
Heathcote
RRP
$
Vintage
Variety/Varieties
Alc./Vol.
%
Jean-Paul Trijsburg farms a small pinot noir vineyard in the Ballarat region for his Jean-Paul label, while also sourcing fruit from across central Victorian vineyards, making diverse styles, from vermouth, to red pÊt-nats, to a carmÊnère and a more classic offering of pinot noir and cool climate syrah. Year on year, the range has expanded, with even more cuvÊes planned for the 2023 vintage.
âThis vintage is looking amazing,â says Trijsburg. âItâs a cool year and weâll be late with most of the picking. That makes it very suitable for making elegant, lighter wines. Lately, I have found myself longing for lighter reds, so it will be good to make more of these. This vintage I am playing with a blend of pinot noir and pinot gris, aiming for a light and flavoursome red. I am excited about that. I am also making a RhĂ´ne blend with whole bunch grenache, carbonic shiraz and a splash of viognier.â
Although the range may be growing, Trijsburg stresses that his label is about simplicity. âItâs about affordable quality that is unique but accessible. I want people to feel comfortable with my wines. Itâs my way of expressing myself and sharing what Iâve learned from my experiences in some of the worldâs most amazing wine regions. I enjoy showcasing grapes and regions that people might not have heard of, and seeing people embrace new things.â
This idea of stretching peopleâs boundaries, including his own, is something that Trijsburg believes in strongly, but the approach is always a fun one, with pleasure rather than overt seriousness in mind. âI made this red pĂŠt-nat, a mistelle [grape juice fortified with spirit], two vermouths⌠I want my business to be fun, too. I donât want to grow to employ staff and take on warehouses. I want to stay small and be independent to create honest, simple wines, and enjoy the process.â
That philosophy very much extends to the way he sells his wine, including at farmerâs markets. âI enjoy the market community. Iâm still selling direct to restaurants, wine shops and wine bars â and though my distribution has grown, I still like to drop off wine orders myself every so often to chat to the owners and see how theyâre going. And Iâm still chatting on the phone all the time to other winemakers, swapping stories and sharing the load where we can. There are a lot of good people in this industry.â
âWhen I think of grape varieties and wine styles, I have this mental map of France in my head. From cool climate pinot in Burgundy (Ballarat), to continental Alsace (Mount Alexander), great for pinot gris and riesling, and warm and dry RhĂ´ne and Languedoc (Heathcote) for shiraz and carmĂŠnère. The climate needs to fit the grapes and wine style. I feel really lucky to be in an area where I have access to such diverse climates and terroirs within a 150-km radius.â
Trijsburg studied agronomy in The Netherlands, but an already burgeoning interest in wine saw him take on a post-graduation job in 2007 at a vineyard in Nuits-St-George, Burgundy. That role, originally to pick grapes, saw him spend most of his time in the winery, steering him towards a career as a winemaker. âI loved how wine is one of the few products where you can be involved in growing, making, marketing and selling a product. You get the full lifecycle.â
He subsequently completed his Master of Science of Viticulture and Oenology through VINIFERA, studying in Montpellier and Bordeaux, France, and Geisenheim, Germany. Trijsburg says that variety of locations exposed him to many different styles, which encouraged him to work vintages in Germany, Spain, Chile and South Africa, before taking on a winemaking role for a small winery in The Netherlands. He settled in Australia in 2012, working both for Lethbridge, Geelong, and Hanging Rock Winery in the Macedon Ranges.
âIâve always loved to grow things, to care for the earth and create life,â says Trijsburg. âI was about five years old when I told my parents I wanted to become a farmer. I started a veggie patch when I was six, and Iâve had one ever since. I love the simplicity of growing plants, the challenge of producing higher quality crops from healthier vineyards, using less water, having a positive impact on our environment. Iâve been fortunate as a winemaker to travel the world doing just that.â
The first wine Trijsburg made under his own Jean-Paul label was a carmĂŠnère â an old Bordeaux variety that was thought nearly extinct until most of Chileâs merlot was revealed to be carmĂŠnère instead, and it is barely grown anywhere else â which was released in 2017.
âI love the simplicity of growing plants, the challenge of producing higher quality crops from healthier vineyards, using less water, having a positive impact on our environment. Iâve been fortunate as a winemaker to travel the world doing just that.â
In 2018, he took on the management of the White Swan Vineyard, a 30-year-old pinot noir site near his home base of Ballarat. âIt hadnât been pruned for a few years and wasnât in great shape,â he says. âThe vineyard has a gentle northern slope and is surrounded by state forest â itâs a beautiful spot, owned by a local restaurateur. That first harvest yielded just a tonne. I have built it up over the past few seasons, using seaweed extract, minimal irrigation and mainly organic sprays. I like working with my hands â to know that itâs my hard work thatâs contributed to the quality and yield. I invest myself in the vineyard.â
Starting out by making the wines in the garage at home, an accident that saw a bin of grapes spilt down the steep driveway saw operations moved to Hanging Rock Winery, where he still makes the wines. âIâve been fortunate to encounter great mentors in many places â each teaching me more about low intervention, simple, clean, beautiful wines â and, importantly, the vineyards that create them. I bounce ideas around with Rob Ellis, Hanging Rockâs head winemaker. Robâs a great help with ideas, blending and advice. And I have introduced him to a few things, too.â
All Trijsburgâs reds are unfiltered and un-fined, with minimal sulphur additions, while the whites are un-fined, and only filtered when needed. All whites have a percentage fermented or aged in used barriques, as he favours the complexity it adds, and the way it rounds the wines.
The range is always fluid, with the path wines take depending on the site and the season. Currently fruit is sourced from several different regions, including Ballarat, Mount Alexander in Bendigo, Strathbogie and Heathcote. âIâll always be trying new grape varieties and wine styles. I will keep on making experimental and interesting wines, just because I enjoy it. Iâve got my eye on some French and Italian varieties, such as greco, roussanne, piquepoul, gamay, sangiovese and trebbiano. There are some really interesting plantings happening in Heathcote and I will be focusing more on this region.â
Trijsburg notes that when he thinks of grape varieties and wine styles, he has this mental map in his head. âFrom cool climate pinot in Burgundy (Ballarat), to continental Alsace (Mount Alexander), great for pinot gris and riesling, and warm and dry RhĂ´ne and Languedoc (Heathcote) for shiraz and carmĂŠnère. The climate needs to fit the grapes and wine style. I feel really lucky to be in an area where I have access to such diverse climates and terroirs within a 150-km radius.â
His vermouth project has deepened, too. âWe bought a beautiful property that has some amazing old trees, including a massive quince tree, a 50-year-old hawthorn and a 100-year-old crabapple. It has the space to plant more fruit trees, such as sloe and damson plums, six varieties of wormwood and lots more botanicals, all of which I intend to use in the next vermouth recipes. The vermouths have been a passion project of mine combining my love for gardening and my profession of winemaking.â
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Stuart Dudineâs Alkimi Wines is built around his passion for both the Yarra Valley and RhĂ´ne varieties, with marsanne and syrah at the core alongside chardonnay, pinot noir, grenache, sparkling and rosĂŠ. The wines are pitched consistently toward the elegant end of the spectrum â natural yeast, no additions except sulphur, unfined and mostly unfiltered, with a No Additions range where not even sulphur is used. Now working from a dedicated leased space in the Yarra Valley and selling direct to wholesale accounts across Victoria, Alkimi is entering a more settled and focused phase after a decade of building the foundations.
Producer
Region
Heathcote Victoria Yarra Valley
RRP
$
Vintage
Variety/Varieties
Alc./Vol.
%
Stuart Dudineâs Alkimi Wines is built around his passion for both the Yarra Valley and RhĂ´ne varieties, with marsanne and syrah at the core alongside chardonnay, pinot noir, grenache, sparkling and rosĂŠ. The wines are pitched consistently toward the elegant end of the spectrum â natural yeast, no additions except sulphur, unfined and mostly unfiltered, with a No Additions range where not even sulphur is used. Now working from a dedicated leased space in the Yarra Valley and selling direct to wholesale accounts across Victoria, Alkimi is entering a more settled and focused phase after a decade of building the foundations.
Dudine graduated with a wine science degree from Charles Sturt University and has completed more than 20 vintages, including four in Europe â two in France, one in Italy, one in Austria. His first vintage came in 2006, and the shape of Alkimi began to form after a formative stint in CĂ´te-RĂ´tie in 2013. âAfter coming back from the 2013 vintage in CĂ´te-RĂ´tie, I began to believe I had what it took to put it all together,â he says. âIt is harder than I ever imagined, but fun to be doing it.â The first Alkimi wines were made from the 2014 vintage, just months after returning from France. âMy main vision is to feature high-quality wines from RhĂ´ne Valley varieties in the Yarra Valley,â he says. âDiversifying grape plantings in certain warmer parts of the Yarra Valley ensures the region stays relevant and progressive in an ever-changing climate.â
âMy wines tend to not be as polished as some wines out there. So, while they are familiar, they have a few extra edges to them.â
The RhĂ´ne thread runs through everything, but the Yarra classics hold their own. Syrah and marsanne sit alongside chardonnay and pinot noir in the core range â the latter two benefiting from the cool Yarra climate that Dudine regards as âclose to perfectâ for both varieties. A grenache from Cambrian soils in Heathcote adds a further dimension. Across all of it, the winemaking remains technologically simple. âI prefer to sculpt wines using the magic of great sites, good picking decisions and very diligent winemaking,â he says. The No Additions range takes that restraint to its logical conclusion: not a drop of sulphur, not an additional input of any kind. All wines are un-fined, naturally stabilised and mostly unfiltered.
Growing RhĂ´ne varieties in the Yarra is not without its challenges. âIf the season is on the cold side, the grapes have to hang for longer, which poses a risk for disease and low ripeness,â Dudine says. âIf diligent vineyard management is not practiced, it will be a disaster. I have found best practice is to always be one step ahead of what the vineyard and the weather is doing to prevent any potential issues. I have learnt over the years to adapt my wines, wine styles and ambitions on the spot to make the best of any situation.â He regards himself as something of a risk-taker in winemaking â âcalculated risks in pursuit of making better wine â some things work, some things donât. I think due to some winemaking techniques, my wines tend to not be as polished as some wines out there. So, while they are familiar, they have a few extra edges to them.â Those edges, deliberately kept.
The vineyard work is where Dudineâs evolution has been most pronounced. He has now been farming small plots in the Yarra Valley for nine years, and two of those plots share a similar story: vineyards on the brink of being pulled out, rescued by Dudine and progressively restored. The first was a small syrah block in the Yarra â reworked vine by vine, farmed organically, now producing fruit with the potential to become a genuinely compelling single-vineyard red. âIt was on the brink of being pulled out,â he says. âI have reworked every vine and I follow a number of organic practices, which means the ecology of the vineyard both below and above the ground is always improving.â The Wattle Grove Vineyard â home to the 30-plus-year-old unirrigated marsanne vines that produce the current flagship white â was the more recent restoration, with the main work focused below the ground. Organic farming practices have been introduced, soft pruning techniques based on the Poussard method â designed to maintain healthy sap flow and reduce large wounds that can introduce disease â have been adopted, and regenerative agriculture principles now frame every decision. âI have been adopting soft pruning techniques and have spent recent years learning about and living by regenerative farming,â he says. âThat is to make the land and environment healthy and resilient indefinitely.â He also invites other growers and viticulturists to visit and exchange ideas. âI visit other vineyards and chat techniques with the growers, and I also invite people to visit my vineyard too.â
In 2025, two significant milestones shifted the business into a new phase. The lease of a dedicated factory space in the Yarra Valley gave Alkimi a permanent home for the first time â a place to make wine, store it, and host guests. âHaving an official base for my business is a solid step forward,â says Dudine. And taking wholesale distribution back in-house across Victoria brought him face-to-face with buyers and customers in a way that has clarified both direction and relationships. âItâs been challenging yet very fulfilling,â he says. âWorking directly with wholesale customers has given me new perspectives and helped solidify the direction Iâm on.â That direction is increasingly focused: chardonnay, pinot noir, marsanne, sparkling and rosĂŠ as the core, with extended ĂŠlevage â longer barrel ageing to build deeper, more complex characters in the wine â as the current preoccupation in the winery. An experimental freeze distillation project â freezing juice to remove ice, concentrating what remains into a potential dessert wine or something else entirely â continues quietly alongside the core work. Sparkling wine is back in production too, after a hiatus since 2022. âIt is very exciting and I very much enjoy the whole process of making sparkling, especially considering the process is very hands on!â
The longer-term vision remains vivid. Regenerative farming on his own property. A cellar door and bar somewhere in the Yarra Valley for the tourists who already flock to the region. Export to the UK, the US and Europe. âChampioning RhĂ´ne varieties in a changing climate,â as he puts it. One step at a time, but always with the destination in view.
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Vino Intrepido is a natural continuation for James Scarcebrook's long-term connection with Italian wine, from fine-wine retail and extensive wine-focused travel to wholesaling some of Italy's best wines. His range, which was launched in 2016 with two wines, has grown to include a suite of Italian varieties â sangiovese, nebbiolo, fiano, nero d'avola, greco, negroamaro and montepulciano among them. The grapes are all sourced from Victorian vineyards, then made in a way that takes inspiration from traditional Italian methods but is carefully tuned to be sympathetic to the natural expression of individual sites and seasons.
Producer
Region
Heathcote Mornington Peninsula
RRP
$
Vintage
Variety/Varieties
Alc./Vol.
%
Vino Intrepido is a natural continuation for James Scarcebrookâs long-term connection with Italian wine, from fine-wine retail and extensive wine-focused travel to wholesaling some of Italyâs best wines. His range, which was launched in 2016 with two wines, has grown to include a suite of Italian varieties â sangiovese, nebbiolo, fiano, nero dâavola, greco, negroamaro and montepulciano among them. The grapes are all sourced from Victorian vineyards, then made in a way that takes inspiration from traditional Italian methods but is carefully tuned to be sympathetic to the natural expression of individual sites and seasons.
Scarcebrook started his career in wine with a job in liquor retail in 2004, with cellar door duty following at the Yarra Valleyâs Domaine Chandon. After graduating as a Master of Wine Business from the University of Adelaide â and a stint as wine buyer at King & Godfree â he set off on a 16-month global wine tour, visiting wineries in ten countries, including working vintage at two wineries in Germany in 2012. Once home, Scarcebrook started his Vincast podcast series, while also working for two leading Sydney-based importers of Italian wine as their Melbourne representative for nearly seven years. In 2016, the first Vino Intrepido wines were launched, but it was in 2019 that Scarcebrook went all in, rebooting the label and expanding the range. When the pandemic prompted redundancy in 2020, he took the business full-time.
âFor me, it is vital that the right varieties are selected from the right source. I do not necessarily want to make wine from an Italian variety because I can, I want to find a correlation with a local region and a region in Italy, to attempt to show the variety at its full potential.â
His formation has been shaped as much by travels in Italy as by local pioneers who showed what Italian varieties could do in Victoria. He cites Mark Walpole, Mario Marson and Kathleen Quealy as significant influences â makers who demonstrated the potential for these varieties in Victorian conditions long before the conversation became mainstream. âFor me, it is vital that the right varieties are selected from the right source,â he says. âI do not necessarily want to make wine from an Italian variety because I can â I want to find a correlation with a local region and a region in Italy, to attempt to show the variety at its full potential. Iâm attempting to capture the best drinkable elements of Italian wine through the prism of Victorian vineyards and climates, working in a simple and honest way to express grape and origin.â
Scarcebrook works in consultation with Mark Matthews at The Wine Creche, a collaborative winemaking facility that gives him access to experienced guidance alongside the creative freedom to realise his own ideas. âFor the most part, I am testing theories I have developed,â he says. âAnd, for the most part, I have been incredibly lucky to make wines that are close to my intention. I have learned the hard way about working with the grower and the fruit, rather than stubbornly sticking to the original plan and trying to get something out of grapes that are not suited for a style.â His sparkling wines are produced in conjunction with sparkling wine specialists Kilchurn in Romsey.
âItalian varietiesâ ability to often ripen later and retain acidity helps keep the wines flavourful and fresh. I also select varieties that reach flavour ripeness at lower sugar levels, to keep alcohol levels at a balanced place. Picking at the right time and not fucking it up in the winery is how I try to work.â
Climate change has been a significant driver of his variety selections. âItalian varietiesâ ability to often ripen later and retain acidity helps keep the wines flavourful and fresh,â he says. âI also select varieties that reach flavour ripeness at lower sugar levels, to keep alcohol levels at a balanced place. Picking at the right time and not fucking it up in the winery is how I try to work.â That approach in the winery sees traditional methods employed, with Scarcebrook noting he takes inspiration from classic Italian practices but always with the fruit profile of the site prioritised. âMost wines are made with spontaneous fermentation and without fining or filtration. Sulphur is added minimally and when necessary, reacting rather than prescribing. No cold soaking is performed, but in some cases post-ferment maceration is used â sangiovese spends a month on skins, whereas nebbiolo spends at least eight weeks on skins. Mature and/or large-format wood is preferred.â
Patience is one of Scarcebrookâs biggest lessons, particularly with Italian varieties. âThis applies to the way they hold their acidity as they reach flavour ripeness on the vine, the way they can sometimes go into slightly funky stages when fermenting, and particularly once they are in bottle,â he says. âThis is particularly the case with the Mornington Peninsula fiano, which can really shut down at particular stages â but give it time and it absolutely sings.â
After several vintages embracing new varieties, new vineyards and new styles, Scarcebrook has recently pulled things back, focusing on fewer wines and key vineyards. The 2024 vintage brought greco and negroamaro into the range for the first time, alongside new styles including the Frigo montepulciano â a chilled red that has become his biggest selling wine â and a Novello sangiovese. The vision from here is consolidation rather than expansion. âAfter ten vintages Iâm getting a better idea about what works best, and more importantly what the consumers are enjoying the most,â he says. âKeeping things uncomplicated makes my life easier, and ultimately makes for more accessible delicious wines.â The focus in 2026 is squarely on getting out and promoting the brand and selling the wines already made â with only the Frigo montepulciano in production this vintage. Ten vintages in, the direction is clearer than ever.
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Light and bright, this is a pure riot of berries and grapey scents, with a fine freshness and gentle spritz â take it as it comes, or chill it down.
Producer
Maison Lapalus
Region
Heathcote
RRP
$30
Vintage
2020
Variety/Varieties
Mourvèdre
Alc./Vol.
12%
A wine created by Gilles Lapalus for an exhibition by Cameron Robbins, with the fermenting wine displayed at his Upwelling show in March 2020. Once fully fermented in Harcourt in demijohn, the wine was bottled and labelled with a drawing that was activated by its own fermentation. Picked early, this is a pure riot of berries and grapey scents, with a fine freshness and gentle spritz â take it as it comes, or chill it down.
Tasting note
A brambly lift of wild fruits, poised and vibrantly fresh, with forest berries and black cherries mingling with freshly turned earth and intensely grapey scents. This is pretty, lifted and just mid-weight, but ripeness of flavour has been perfectly snatched, with the wine constantly reminding you of the bright grape juice it was made from, but feeling every bit complete as a wine, too. Thereâs clear seam of gentle CO2 that gives it further brightness and lift, filling in for structure where tannin might normally sit. This would take a chill happily, but it doesnât necessarily need it.
Themes of this wine
Heathcote
Heathcote is rugged country, a tinder-dry landscape of rusty iron-rich soils littered with sculpturally stacked granitic boulders. Itâs mythical territory, ancient land, and home to some of the worldâs oldest viticultural soils. But as a wine region, it is a relatively young one, which saw an explosion of growth in the 90s. Shiraz led the charge, and it became Victoriaâs answer to the Barossa or McLaren Vale, producing wines of significant power. But Heathcote is very different to both those places, and it is not that easily defined. Today, shiraz finds myriad expressions, and other many other varieties are taking a firm grip, especially those suited to dry and warm climes.
Mourvèdre
Mourvèdre â or Mataro if youâre from South Australia â is a grape that is typically blended, usually with grenache and shiraz. Bottled solo, it often makes dark-fruited wines with gruffly earthy/herbal notes and plenty of tannin, but it makes some of the worldâs best rosĂŠs, too.
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