Place of Changing Winds Mari Magno Pinot Noir 2022

Description

Product Description: Young vines, rough seas, and a surprisingly smooth ride. Mari Magno is the debut release of Place of Changing Winds’ new first-tier Pinot Noir label—and it sets the bar high. Sourced primarily from the estate’s echalas block (staked, bush-vine co-plantings) and supplemented by neighbouring young vines, the 2022 vintage spent an extra year in bottle to see what time might reveal. The result? Bright, juicy fruit with lifted perfume and a surprising depth of complexity for such a youthful expression. This is a wine with energy and charm. Layers of sweet cherry and redcurrant are backed by floral lift and a faint spice, shaped by the high-altitude Macedon Ranges site and the vineyard’s meticulous organic farming. Mari Magno—named after the rough seas” of Lucretius’ De Rerum Natura—captures the challenges of the site with grace. It’s a wine of resilience and clarity, offering early pleasure and quiet detail. Drink now for brightness, or cellar for up to five years. Best with grilled quail, mushroom risotto or herb-crusted pork. Maker Place of Changing Winds is owned and lead by the prolific Robert Walters Chief wine buyer at Bibendum and author of the award winning Bursting Bubbles: A Secret History of Champagne. It’s a single site in the Macedon Ranges of Victoria that Walters and his team began planting in 2012. Walters had searched for almost five years to find the right location, which turned out to be in a hamlet called Bullengarook, on the southern foothills of Mount Macedon, about one-hour north-west of Melbourne. To the best of our knowledge, this area was called Warekilla by the original inhabitants, the Wurundjeri people. This means ‘Place of Changing Winds’, a characteristic of the site that still holds true today. ‘No compromise, no regrets’ is the motto here. Rob has drawn on his years of experience observing many of the great growers of the world and translating to his setting what he considered to be best practices. The methods applied are labour-intensive and designed to maximise soil and vine health and foster a strong connection between the plant and its environment—and thus realise an expression of place in the resultant wines. The elevation is high (500-plus metres), and average rainfall is typically between 700 and 900mm. It’s a genuinely cool site with cold nights and a massive diurnal range, which Pinot and Chardonnay love. In summer, the range can often exceed 20°C or more, which leads to heavy morning dews and strong frosts. The soil is eroded quartz, sandstone and quartzite over clay and silt, as well as some eroded basalt from a rare form called mugearite. The bedrock is over 400 million years old and was mostly formed at the bottom of the ocean in the Ordovician Period. In simple terms, it is rocky, gravelly soil, historically known as Bullengarook gravel. The Vineyard Place of Changing Winds is a unique high-density vineyard situated on the southern foothills of Mount Macedon in central Victoria, Australia. Established in 2012 by wine buyer and importer Robert Walters, with the aim to create a small, high-density vineyard that could produce exceptional wines. The winery is named after its original name given by the Wurundjeri people, who called it Warekilla, or Place of Changing Winds, which still holds true today. This winery produces two sets of wines – Estate Pinot Noir and Chardonnay from their own vines, and Syrah, Marsanne from two grower vineyards, which showcase the distinct characteristics of each region. The Estate wines from Place of Changing Winds are exclusively from their property, which has an altitude of 500 meters above sea level. This cool site has good rain, cold nights and a wide diurnal range, which is surrounded by native plantings and thousands of hectares of forest. Tasting Notes NOSE – Bright and floral Red cherry, wild berries and crushed violets with light spice and fresh herbs. PALATE – Juicy and lifted Sweet red fruit and soft tannins, underpinned by gentle savoury tones and natural freshness. FINISH – Fresh and lingering Clean, high-toned close with a flutter of spice and fruit persistence. The Finer Details Style – Red Wine Varietal – Pinot Noir Country – Australia Region – Heathcote, Victoria Vintage – 2022 Bottle Size – 750ml ABV – 13.5% Other – Organic