Bindi KAYE Pinot Noir 2023

Why is this Wine so Yummy?

About Bindi

A Bit of Bindi on the Side – An interview with Michael Dhillon of Bindi Wines

Michael Dhillon’s been around the block. Mostly Block 5 & a few others that Bindi planted moons ago. After over a generation of growing grapes and making wines, Bindi, has the reputation of one of Australia’s great Pinot and Chardonnay producers. They aren’t resting on their laurels!

New high density planting are in the ground and will soon bare fruit. The ever present desire to achieve the most delicious wine possible still beats stong in his heart.

From Bindi

‘Bindi’, 50 kilometres north-west of Melbourne in the Macedon Ranges, is the family property of the Dhillon family. Originally purchased in the 1950s as part of the larger grazing farm ‘Bundaleer’, ‘Bindi’ is a 170 hectare farm of which 7 hectares are planted to Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. Fifteen hectares are dedicated to managed plantation eucalypts for high grade furniture timber whilst the remainder of the land is maintained as remnant bush land and important indigenous grasslands.

The Bindi vineyard is the fundamental focus of our endeavors. Our vineyard and winemaking philosophy is to seek balance and purity in the expression of our various individual vineyard sites and this philosophy is applied to farming and conservation at ‘Bindi’; the preservation of the natural harmony.

The Bindi labels featured under the link ‘wine styles’ provide some of the stories of people and place that define our endeavour.

In the Vineyard

Vineyard elevation 500 meters above sea level. Soils predominantly shattered quartz over siltstone, sandstone and clay (Ordovician period sub soils-480 million years old) with some eroded volcanic top soil over clay (Approximately four millions years old). Generally infertile.

Production ranges from 1,800-3,000 dozen bottles per vintage

Yields typically 1.5 to 2 tonnes per acre (3.5 to 5.0 tonnes per hectare)

Typical hand management regimes of fastidious small vineyard philosophies are maintained encompassing hand pruning, frequent passes (at least ten passes each vine) though the growing season managing the vertical shoot positioned canopy and hand harvesting

Since 2005 we have been implementing organic procedures and inputs where the focus is on promoting soil life and balance leading to excellent vine health. This involves compost, undervine cultivation and aerating the soil (opening up the soil for air, moisture and soil applications).

Tiny Bunch of Pinot

Giant Dog or Small Vines

Close Planting

Chardonnay plantings – 2 hectares
Kostas Rind Chardonnay in 1988
Quartz Chardonnay in 1988

Pinot Noir plantings – 5 hectares
Original Vineyard Pinot Noir in 1988
Block Five Pinot Noir in 1992
Block K Pinot Noir in 2001
Darshan in 2014 (high density Pinot Noir (11,300 vines per hectare in a 1.1m x 0.8m))
Block 8 in 2016 (high density Pinot Noir (11,300 vines per hectare in a 1.1m x 0.8m))

In the Winery

Our fermentations occur without addition of yeast, yeast nutrient or enzyme.  Unsettled Chardonnay juice goes straight to barrel, reds are gently worked, delicate pressing, long lees ageing in French barrels and minimal racking. No fining and restricted filtration regimes are followed.

Vigneron: Michael Dhillon

Michael was born in the town of Gisborne (where his family on his mother Kaye’s side have been since 1853) , 55kms north west of Melbourne, and grew up at Bindi, a 170 hectare farm just outside the township. Today he and his family produce chardonnay and pinot from their vineyard at Bindi which Bill and Michael Dhillon established in 1988.

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, where he spent time with the Champagne house of Jean Vesselle in Bouzy, with Alain Graillot in Croze-Hermitage and four vintages in Tuscany at Tenuta di Valgiano. During the mid 1990s Michael also worked with John Wade over parts of three vintages when John was establishing Howard Park Winery. Michael’s passion for Burgundy has seen him visit over 100 different domaines over two decades.

The 2023 season

The fourth year of the cool and the damp has an undeniably admirable stamp. How could this be? Something precious has risen above its origins and holds an increasingly exciting and somewhat head scratching promise. The spring and early summer were diabolically damned with damp as those months overflowed the dams and underwhelmed our expectations. Bastard months, one after the other. Crops were downed by the downy, saviour sought in systemic resorts while the weeds grew as fast as did our weariness from the worry. Oh buoy, hope almost drowned by the deluge, a vintage nearly washed away. But not quite!

In one day it turned. Christmas Eve presented sunshine and the broken records of rain ceased. The spin cycled to dry, it was a midsummer season-saving run of warmth and calm and respite. Without it surely we’d have been doomed? But then the overly arid threatened and we questioned this opposite stress; too dry? Not quite. La Niña wasn’t done. The teary damp was resurrected over Easter, a viticultural insurrection no less, and the humidity pushed hard again through April. Lo and behold, quite ridiculously so, the vineyards and the wines have pushed forward and somehow worked out.

We did nothing different with the viticulture and winemaking. Lots of hard work by hand, the usual gentle winemaking. I would say that we made some rapid decisions to pick. For example, at lunchtime on Easter Monday I was concerned about the continuing humid weather and the ability of some blocks to hold on so the next day we had 50 people on-site picking and processing. It was a big call to friends and family and our team, it was the right call to capture the purity and balance. Other cooler blocks that were less humid and were historically known to be able to hang on were left for up to 17 days extra to gain ripeness. All these decisions proved to be the correct ones and the opportunity of the challenging season was maximised.

Where in the World is Bindi Wines?

Bindi is in Gisbourne within the Macedon Ranges, one of Victoria’s cool climate wine regions. Look to the north and a little west of Melbourne.