2021 Place of Changing Winds Harcourt Marsanne

WINEMAKER: Robert Walters
REGION: Harcourt, VIC
VARIETAL: Marsanne, Roussanne
VITICULTURE: Organic

This year the Marsanne comes from the same vineyard as the Harcourt Syrah. There is also a fair dollop of Roussanne in the blend, from the same site. Following previous practice with this wine, the grapes were picked fully ripe, pressed hard and sent straight to barrel (500 and 228-litre) for fermentation and aging. Primary fermentation and malolactic were left to happen naturally. After 12 months in cask, the wine was racked to tank for an additional 10 months, before the wine was bottled at the start of February 2023.

As with previous releases, this wine is the opposite of what you would typically expect of an Australian Marsanne regarding harvesting dates, winemaking and style. It will certainly age well—gaining more and more honeyed characters—but it’s delicious now. Rob and Remi believe this to be their best ‘Rhône’ white thus far. Who are we to disagree? It has the same power and richness of previous releases yet with perhaps more vibrancy thanks to Harcourt’s granitic soils and climate, as well as the inclusion of some Roussanne.

The goal since the beginning for Place of Changing Winds has been to establish a vineyard and a system of practice that can stand comparison with the world’s greatest estates. The aim has been to answer the question, “How much of a difference to style and quality does this type of extreme practice make?” The 2021s seem to be answering that question.