Bindi New Releases

 There are some wineries with exceptional wines which manage to deliver high quality at reasonable prices as well (think Penfolds Bin 28, for example, or Ata Rangi Crimson Pinot Noir). Bindi, unfortunately, is not one of them. However, there are specific reasons for this. As Bindi became better known, wines from their exceptional Estate Vineyard in Macedon sell out in an instant. It was an opportunity too good to pass up, to expand with wines from bought-in fruit. The recent release of these wines (and some estate wines) allows us to assess their quality.

Let's start with the 2023 Bindi Dhillon Macedon Ranges Chardonnay. This wine is made from fruit sourced from the Macedon Ranges. Citrus and white peach are the dominant flavours. The focussed acidity is high, giving the wine a very refreshing finish (88 points). The second wine from the current release is the 2023 Bindi Kostas Rind Chardonnay. This is the standard wine from the Estate. The immediate observation is that this wine is much more concentrated. Otherwise there are similarities to the previous wine in terms of flavour and acidity. In addition, the wine has more energy and drive (92 points).

Then we come to the red wines. The 2023 Bindi Dixon Pinot Noir is the entry level Pinot Noir from the Estate. The colour is pale, but there is a lot going on in the mouth. Strawberry and raspberry flavours reveal themselves first, savoury notes follow, balanced by fine tannins. This wine tastes very young and must be aged to experience better harmony. The Dixon is my pick from the wines reviewed here (92 points).

The second area of focus for Michael Dhillon is Heathcote. The 2023 Bindi Col Mountain Grenache comes from there. This is quite a light red, soft, with typical raspberry flavours - a basic expression of Grenache, somewhat unusual from Heathcote (88 points). The Pyrette Shiraz has been around for longer. This release is the 2022 Bindi Pyrette Shiraz. This is a lighter style, very different from the typical expression from Heathcote. Blackberry, earthy and peppery notes deliver a typical cooler climate style. The wine finishes quite tannic (90 points). 

I was not able to taste the premium wines of this release. They were the 2017 and 2018 Darshan Pinot Noir and the 2019 Block 8 Pinot Noir. I tasted the 2017 Darshan at a visit to the winery last year (see previous blog post), as well as the 2021 Block 8. These wines come from new high density plantings on the Estate. They are exciting wines of small volume, the scarcity matched by high prices.