Australia's white wine scene is a hotbed of quality, and very much on the up. The country's foremost wine communicator, Huon Hooke surveys new and established wineries, large and small, to name his top estates. As published in the Decanter July 2012 issue.
Bindi Wine Growers
Bindi Wine Growers
Macedon Ranges, Victoria
Few Australians come closer to the Burgundy model of the vigneron than Michael Dhillon of Bindi (pictured). Working entirely with a single, 6ha (hectare), cool-climate vineyard, Dhillon crafts spectacularly refined, delicate, compact and multi-layered Chardonnays (and Pinot Noirs) of great precision. There are two Chardonnays. Composition is the second-rung wine – lesser in price only – while Quartz is, as the name suggests, from a single block of vines on particularly quartz-rich soil (though rich is the wrong word – these gold-bearing soils are very low in fertility and grape yields are paltry). Quartz is a spine-tingling wine of great purity and intensity, line and focus. These wines are rare but thrilling, and destined for greatness. If they weren’t so scarce, they would be household names by now. Certainly, whenever Chardonnay is discussed by the cognoscenti, Bindi is recognised as among Australia’s finest.
Bindi, Quartz Chardonnay 2010
Intense citrus aromas, fresh and clean. Bright lemon with touches of grapefruit. Very fine and taut in the mouth, intense and penetrating, with impressive power. Very persistent. More nervy, mineral and intense than the softer Composition. 19.5pts/20
Price: £57.49 Les Caves de Pyrène, Swig
Drink: 2012–2023
Alc: 14%
