Murdoch Hill Limited Release Vis-a-Vis Cabernet Franc 2022

This is the fifth release of Downer’s Cabernet Franc. The fruit was sourced from Murdoch’s own Oakbank vineyard, with its sandy loam soils which are lightly peppered with quartz. Downer has planted a further 400 vines of Cabernet Franc which will come online from the 2023 vintage.   The vines here are spur pruned and the team practices detailed hand pruning, shoot thinning and bunch thinning to ensure they give Downer the lifted, violet and red-fruited profile he’s chasing for this spicy, sappy, Loire-inspired red. The fruit for the 2022 was hand-picked and 100% destemmed, then racked into mostly older (only 10% new) French barriques, where it rested for 10 months.

Murdoch Hill The Tilbury Chardonnay 2022

Fruit for the 2022 Tilbury was sourced from the Lenswood Vineyard (80%) with the balance coming from the usual Piccadilly and Lobethal growers that have previously contributed to this wine. The style of the fruit from the Lenswood site is more open and generous, providing a beautiful contrast to the linear and tight nature of the Piccadilly and Lobethal material. Its fruit is from own-rooted I10v1 clone vines planted in 1989 and Bernard 76 and 95 clones planted in the early 2000s. The Lobethal site is close to 500m of elevation and has soils that are loaded with ironstone, contributing fruit with a classic flinty expression and powerful drive. The Piccadilly soils are varied, with sandstone, sandy loam and ironstone.  The fruit was hand-harvested and whole-bunch pressed into French puncheons, barriques and some Stockinger vessels for fermentation (about 40% new wood this year). The wine went through full malo and had some light lees stirring over eight months maturation.

Murdoch Hill Sauvignon Blanc 2022

From a cool and low-yielding, but high-quality vintage this vibrant, energetic wine has received the same deluxe treatment from Michael Downer as anything else at Murdoch Hill. The fruit is entirely estate-grown, taken from three different blocks, over four separate picks. Fermentation was in tank (90%) and barrel (10%) with the barrel component adding texture and weight to the otherwise restrained and driven structure.

Murdoch Hill The Rocket Limited Release Chardonnay 2022

The lion’s share of the fruit for the 2022 Rocket Chardonnay comes from the family’s recently acquired Lenswood Vineyard. Initially planted in 1989, this beautiful site sits at a lofty 500 metres elevation and is home to some of the oldest vines in the Lenswood area. With lineage and continuity of style in mind, alongside the 65% Lenswood component, 35% of the blend is sourced from one of the traditional, high-sited Rocket sources in Piccadilly Valley. The Lenswood site is home to a tapestry of clones but it was the clone 76 vines planted in 2000 and located in the western forest block that were chosen for the 2022 Rocket. In terms of style, Downer tells us the Lenswood site brings grace, purity and openness to the wine, providing a perfect juxtaposition to the racier expression of the Piccadilly fruit.     Whole bunch pressed, the juice was settled for less than 24 hours and rough racked to a mixture of demi-muids, puncheons and tight-grained low-toast French barriques (50% new) for nine months. The wine went through full malo. The parcels were then assembled to tank to rest for a few months before bottling in January.

Murdoch Hill The Phaeton Pinot Noir 2022

The Phaeton is a 50/50 blend of fruit from the Murdoch Hill Lenswood Vineyard, and two of the original growers in the Piccadilly Valley who have always contributed to the wine. From the lofty Lenswood site (500 metres), four blocks of clones D5V12 and Dijon 114 and 115 (planted in 1989 and the early 2000s respectively) are used. The complexity of clones adds a dense core of fruit as well as structure and great aromatic fragrance. The Piccadilly sites are planted to clones 114 and 115. The first site lies at 520 meters altitude outside the town of Piccadilly, below Mount Lofty. Its easterly aspect provides Downer with delicacy, pretty aromatics and pure, red-fruited notes. The second vineyard, also with an easterly aspect but in Ashton, sits on a steep slope at 560 meters on quite shallow sandstone and hard soils, and adds forest floor complexity.  Downer handled each parcel separately, both with a portion of whole berries and whole bunches (17%). The whole bunch portion was pulled back dramatically this year as small yields and a low juice-to-stalk ratio meant a more restrained approach was required. Fermentation occurred in stainless steel followed by maturation, mostly in puncheons with a small amount in barrique (approximately 25% new) for eight months.

Murdoch Hill Limited Release Falcon Syrah Pinot Noir 2018

The resurgence of the uniquely Australian Pinot Shiraz blend is something that we should all celebrate. It just works. Having burst back onto the scene in the Hunter Valley and Victoria, it’s great to see winemakers from other states getting in on the act, especially when those winemakers are Michael Downer and Peter Dredge. Downer’s Falcon features a blend of Estate-grown Syrah from Oakbank (70%) and Pinot Noir from the Piccadilly Valley (30%). Both vineyard sources average 20-plus years in age and both were wild-fermented in small-batch, open fermenters before maturation in barrique and puncheon (8% new). “I was a seeking to fuse the ‘forest’ style of Pinot, which is usual for Ashton, matched with slippery, slightly bunchy Syrah from home (Oakbank).” says Downer.

Murdoch Hill Apollo Pinot Noir 2022

Now in its third year, 2022 marks a significant point in Apollo’s evolution. For previous releases, Michael has sourced fruit from one to three vineyards in the Piccadilly Valley’s western ridge. This year, 100% of the fruit for the Apollo was sourced from the family’s recently acquired Lenswood Vineyard. Initially planted in 1989, the Pinot Noir plantings total 35% of the acreage. There are four blocks; two were planted in the early 2000s to Dijon 114 and 115 (facing southwest); and the D5V12 blocks were planted in 1989 in the top corner of the vineyard facing east. Fruit for the 2022 Apollo came from the two 1989 blocks—one of which is very rich in ironstone, giving a deep tannin profile to the fruit—and one of the 114/115 clone blocks. Each parcel was fermented separately in 2.2-tonne fermenters, and the end composition is roughly equal to each block.     Cooler conditions in 2022 saw a decrease in the whole bunch component to 20%. The wine was raised in a mixture of French and Austrian demi-muids, puncheons and barriques (roughly 40% new) for nine months. Downer is working with tight grain, low-impact barrels to build texture and structure into the wines.