2022 Place of Changing Winds Tradition Red
2022 Place of Changing Winds Tradition Red
The greatest Australian wines I have ever tasted were made by Hunter legend Maurice O’Shea in the 1940s and ’50s. These wines were blends of Syrah and Pinot, and they have inspired this blend, which we make only in suitable years. This release is a blend of 40% Pinot from our own vines, and 60% Syrah from Heathcote and Harcourt. It spent the first year in a mix of large and small oak barrels, mostly neutral, with the last phase of aging in steel tank and 600-litre Stockinger cask. It was bottled at the end of November 2023. The result is a bright, perfumed, juicy wine. Although delicious now, it should certainly age well. Alcohol: 13.5%. Closure: Diam 30.
95 points, Campbell Mattinson, The Wine Front
93 points, Mike Bennie, The Wine Front
“It’s not heavy but there’s impressive intensity of flavour here. It tastes of sheer plum, dark chocolate, roasted nuts and sweet cherry, with woodsy spice and cedarwood characters as part of the veneer. There’s texture, there’s twigs, there’s pure, perfectly ripened fruit, and there’s a firm stamp of integrated tannin. There’s some char to the aftertaste, which is not a distraction and is not a negative. There’s a lot to delve into here. It’s excellent.” 95 points, Campbell Mattinson, The Wine Front
“Here is 60% syrah from Heathcote and Harcourt with a bolstering remainder of pinot noir. A variety of vessels cajole the wine to bottle. This feels meaty and sleek in the same breath. A whiff of woody spices and undergrowth before a compote of forest berries with a high note of tart cherry. Similar to taste, a sluice of fine, grainy tannin in tow, on medium weight and very persistent. It’s a slurpier red with plenty of charisma and high drinkability.” 93 points, Mike Bennie, The Wine Front