One of Australia’s most humble and innately talented winemakers, Lambert is obviously inspired by his experience making wine in Piemonte and Australia yet firmly believes that “...the shape of a wine should be governed by what soil you’re on, the aspect, the amount of sunshine and rain.” In other words, the personality of a wine will be dictated by its “place”. Lambert’s source vineyards (in poor, rocky and elevated pockets of the Yarra Valley) therefore manage to bring out their unique signature in the final cut. The fruit for this Syrah was sourced from the west side of the Denton vineyard, where it enjoys more afternoon sun. The vines are located at the top of the hill where the topsoil depth is negligible, and yields are much lower than is the case for the Crudo vines, which are on the lower part of the slope. Luke tells us that one of the most valuable things he’s learned over his career is “how to extract the best out of bunch”, and those of you familiar with his reds will know this to be true (2022 saw an 80% whole bunch component). His ferments are fast—usually 10 to 12 days for the Syrah. Rosalind and Olive (Luke’s daughter) managed pigéage, doing so twice a day and really working the cap. It was then pressed to tank to naturally settle before it was racked to large, old foudre.