Dalwhinnie

About

Located just near Moonambel in Western Victoria, the Dalwhinnie vineyard produces some of the Pyrenees region’s best Chardonnay, Shiraz, and Cabernet. Sitting at 595 meters above sea level, it is one of the region’s most remote and highest vineyard. This unique “bowl of vines” is located in a naturally undulating trough which falls away from the hills, forming an amphitheatre nestled into the ranges. This keeps the 16ha of land cool, and creates a microclimate to produce wines of finesse as well as flavour. Dalwhinnie was founded by Ewan Jones in the early 1970s, and was named after the Scottish Highland town of his ancestors. The vineyard is divided into blocks, averaging at 1.8ha in size, all extremely low cropping. The Hill blocks are planted on pure granite. “I think our site high in the Pyrenees at Dalwhinnie is close to optimum,” says Chief winemaker Julian Langworthy. “Relatively high in altitude with warm days and cool nights, with an amphitheatre of hills providing a multitude of aspects, and stoney lean soils ensure that the vines are not overly vigorous.”