William Downie and the Thousand Candles team are keen to expand our understanding of premium wine from the Yarra Valley. A shy complexity; a layered sense of tone and colour, and a nervous acceleration as the wine slips seamlessly from beginning to end. A wine that tells the story of its place more so than its varietals. A wine that pushes the boundaries, from one of Australia's most innovative and skilled wine makers.

The site where we source fruit for this wine is in a slightly warmer part of the Peninsula, well suited to cooler seasons such as 2020. This wine shows denser, darker fruits than that of its Yarra counterpart. On the nose there is stewed plums, cherries, roasted beetroot and spice all contributing to the aromatic complexity. The palate again shows an array of blue fruits, licorice and well integrated oak flavours giving a hint of sweetness. The acid/tannin combination gives this wine exceptional crunch and energy through the mid palate.

A typically elegant Yarra Cabernet. The nose shows cassis and blackberry aromas with subtle cedary oak and the palate has a silky mouthfeel with sweet berry flavours and a lovely lingering finish.

The Levantine Hill Cabernet Sauvignon is redolent with blackberry, blackcurrant and cocoa-rich chocolate. The supple, balanced middle palate evokes truffle, bramble and earthy complexity. An outstanding example of the Yarra Valley region, its chewy, satisfying tannins are beautifully-integrated with fleshy fruit characters, hedonic spice and lingering, persistent length.

This savoury Pinot Noir is the result of an assemblage of twelve individual batches sourced from our Maroondah Highway vineyard. Subtle aromas of rhubarb, violets, earth, chervil, mace, leather, pencil shavings & cocoa nib with a stemmy note contributed by fermention with stalks. The composed elegant palate exhibits strawberry, tamarind & peach stone tartness from ingrained natural acidity, softly spreading fruit weight & sweeping talc-like tannins.

The nose displays aromas of raspberry and herbs with an attractive earthiness. The palate shows red berries, pomegranate and some lovely forest floor characters. A fine tannin profile and bright natural acid lift provide great depth and structure to the plate. The beautiful acidity suggests this.

Savoury, woody spice adds greater interest to become quite intense in its cherry skin and stone flavours, with intriguing white mushroom and pepper notes in the finish.

Levantine Hill Syrah has lifted complex aromas of dusty red berries, musk, cardamom and white pepper and vanillin oak. The elegant medium-bodied palate abounds with spice and earthy nuances in a concentration of savouriness. The silky ripe tannins have been deftly integrated with the underlying oak providing carriage for the fruit weight and lingering flavours to a pronounced and persistent finish.