Sometimes, you have to call it as you see it: Mount MacLeod should be one of Australia’s go-to value producers. After all, this a dedicated and eco-minded grower in the truest sense, arguably crafting the best-value organically managed Pinot Noir and Chardonnay in Victoria. MacLeod’s sloping, south-facing Chardonnay block sits on the classic well-drained, red ferrosols of South Gippsland. This parcel was the first to gain organic certification in 2008. The vines are dry-grown, and yields—which might easily blow out in the fertile Leongatha soils—are strictly controlled, averaging a bizarrely low (given the pricing) 1.5 tonnes per acre.
Mark Matthews’s guiding principle in the shed is to have confidence in the fruit and allow it to sit at the heart of all decision-making. His pared-back winemaking regime encompasses wild ferments and only neutral oak, delivering his subtle message with ultimate integrity. This year, 5% of the fruit fermented on skins to add texture and phenolic tension to the blend, while the balance was pressed as bunches. The wine was divided between concrete vessels with no malolactic conversion and 15+-year-old barriques with partial malolactic conversion. Both batches rested on lees with no stirring for nine months. This is another terrific-value wine from one of Victoria’s most green-fingered growers. Expect punchy and vibrant citrus flavours, mouthwatering freshness and an impressively long close.