Know your étiquette! Macedon Ranges

Описание: This is recognised as mainland Australia’s coolest wine region. Yes, the rolling paddocks take on a sun-dried mien in summer but this is a relatively leafy, green, bucolic - and often bloody cold – landscape. There’s even rural English ring to towns such as Lancefield, Romsey, Gisborne, Kyneton and Woodend.
Fair to say, region lives in the shadow of the Yarra Valley and Mornington Peninsula but the quality of its best wines, sites and growers are undoubtedly in the same league. It’s full of surprises and on the up!
That’s because cool will likely be the new cool for as long as Earth holds out – and demand for top-notch Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, like the planet, shows no signs of cooling. Established names include Bindi, Curly Flat, Cobaw Ridge and Granite Hills but, unsurprisingly, this is a place brimming with up-and-coming. Younger names like Joshua Cooper, Lyons Will and Place of Changing Winds have planted an unmissable flag in recent years.
Alister Timms been working vineyards up here for more than 20 years, and Shadowfax is one of those striving successfully to showcase the best of Macedon Ranges. Its regional Pinot Noir and this featured Chardonnay – both of which come with an RRP of $40 – are a superb introduction to its virtues.
Many thanks to vineyard manager Sam McCabe and the Shadowfax team for the photographs used in this presentation.