

Place of Changing Winds Heathcote Syrah 2021
Place of Changing WindsGrape: Syrah
Vintage: 2021
Type: Red
Larger format Stockinger barrels and concrete make up a lot of the wine’s vessel maturation profile. The vineyard from northern climes in Heathcote. It spent nearly three years resting before bottling. A wild card, a surprise package. A wine of energy, febrile tension, freshness and drawl. It’s all wild, brambly red berries, dusty, fine tannin, blood orange (pleasing) sweet-bitterness, fine, dark chocolate mellow qualities and faint game meat savouriness. It feels decidedly light and bright, sure, complex, layered, some intensity, but the vim and vigour here is undeniable. This will slake a thirst.
Place of Changing Winds is a pioneering wine estate located in Bullengarook within Australia’s Macedon Ranges, established in 2012 by Robert Walters and his partner Kate Millard. The project is defined by its extreme viticultural practices, most notably its ultra-high-density plantings that range from 12,000 to a staggering 33,000 vines per hectare, designed to force the vines to compete and drive their roots deep into the rocky, 400-million-year-old soil. Situated at an elevation of 500 meters, the site experiences a dramatic diurnal range and is surrounded by native forest, which contributes to a cool-climate profile characterized by intense aromatics and structural finesse. Walters, drawing on decades of experience as a high-end wine importer, manages the 3.1-hectare vineyard organically with a focus on manual labor and soil health, producing estate Pinot Noir and Chardonnay alongside a grower series of Syrah and Marsanne from nearby regions like Heathcote and Harcourt. The winemaking process is equally meticulous, utilizing native yeasts, manual destemming, and aging in Austrian oak to create wines that prioritize purity and a precise expression of their unique terroir.
