Macedon Ranges, Part 2: Curly Flat

 Curly Flat was probably the first winery which put Macedon on the wine map for a wider audience. The style of the wines could not have been more different to Bindi. The vines are grown on rich volcanic soil. The wines used to be generous, sometimes quite broad, but delivered great drinkability. I have not been in touch for a number of years, so I was looking forward to this tasting.

The focus was on Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, tasting quite a number of years.

The first wine was the 2005 Chardonnay. Australian Chardonnay does not always age well, but this one certainly did. It still had some energy left. This is a rich and powerful wine. Toasty and nutty characters now dominate the palate. The structure is still good (92 points). A big jump to the 2016 Chardonnay. This wine was big and oaky. I found it quite fat (89 points).

A new winemaker took over, maybe four years ago. He is supposedly trying to turn down the richness in the wines, and the new oak components. The example I tasted first was the 2020 Chardonnay. I still found the fruit component very big in this wine, and the shape wide rather than long. There was more acidity in this wine, which made it more lively (92 points). Then I tasted the 2018 and 2019 Chardonnays. The 2018 in particular felt quite flabby. 

Curly Flat is in some financial stress because of the divorce/payout from the previous owner. I feel these Chardonnays come from increased yields to boost production to improve cash-flow.

The first red wine I tasted was the 2015 Pinot Noir. It showed an interesting blend of strawberry and dark cherry fruit, as well as savoury notes, but the structure was not great (90 points). The 2019 Pinot Noir was similar, a bit more savoury, and a little green, which I thought benefited the wine in this case (91 points). The best wine was the 2020 Pinot Noir. It had a silky, more sophisticated mouthfeel (93 points).

Overall, it has to be said, this tasting did not deliver what I was hoping for. My sense is, for economic reasons, the winery is moving into a more commercial space.