Bindi Kaye Pinot Noir 2023

Bindi Kaye Pinot Noir 2023 

The Bindi family property at Gisborne in the Macedon Ranges is arguably one of the most incredible vineyard/winery sites in Australia. At the large sandstone gates you are greeted with this beautifully laid out hillside slope, meandering down covered in vines, with the family home and winery sat amid the middle - whilst the remaining area is a mix of significant forestry planting, remnant bushland and important indigenous grasslands.

You can see the amount of time and planning spent setting this up for not only the two generations that have farmed the property, but for future generations. Originally purchased in the 1950s as part of the larger grazing farm Bundaleer , the current focus of the Bindi property is the vineyard - planted in 1988. Organic practices under vine have been utilised since 2006.

Michael Dhillon oversees all aspects of viticulture and winemaking - his philosophy is to seek balance and purity in the expression of various individual vineyard sites with this philosophy applied to farming and conservation at Bindi ; the preservation of the natural harmony. Michael served as assistant winemaker to Stuart Anderson from 1991 until 1998 when he assumed full responsibility. Michael learned his craft working with Stuart as well as experiencing vintages in Europe, his passion for Burgundy has seen him visit over 100 Domaines over two decades.

Not only is this a special place, these too are special wines - everything is done on site, harvesting by hand, with all winemaking and then bottling occurring within the property. Everything is fermented naturally, without the use of any additions, enzymes or fining agents. The outcome - easily some of Australia s finest Pinot Noir.

This special single vineyard (Block K) bottling is dedicated to Kaye Dhillon (1938-1985) and comes from two select parcels (from within the Block K vineyard) from our most elevated Bindi planting established in 2001.  One Block K parcel of 115 clone Pinot Noir runs directly alongside Block 5 and the other parcel comes from the very top Block K rows of the MV6 clone Pinot Noir.

This vineyard sits just below the end of the Mount Gisborne lava flow and is underpinned by ancient Ordovician period soils incorporating mudstone, sandstone, much quartz rock and clay with a covering of varying amounts of much younger, fine volcanic top soil.

The selection for KAYE is limited to the best vats from the specific soil profiles and is generally between 70 and 150 dozen, vintage dependent.  These vines are managed in the usual Bindi way without herbicides or pesticides and utilise undervine cultivation and extremely rigorous hand canopy management from pruning to harvest.

"This is a very sentimental wine from our most elevated vineyard, planted in 2001, that pays tribute to my mother, Kaye. It’s a vineyard with a stunning perspective over the other vineyards, the winery, house and to the forests and hills beyond. There are some lovely metaphors, no doubt. The site has a lot of quartz and mudstone, a smattering of volcanic soils that have eroded down from the volcanic plateau above, and produces a wine of fragrance, structure and complexity. The 2023 Kaye is already showing lovely complexity but is still extremely youthful. The nose is very fragrant of roses, undergrowth, rhubarb, musk and spice. The palate is supple and creamy, is carried by very fine tannins which are super elegant and provide a finish with a lot of finesse. It will drink at its best from five years of age." - Michael Dhillon, Bindi