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This is a vibrantly aromatic and juicy, red fruited wine, with energy and a refreshing, tangy backbone. The long, spicy finish has plenty to keep you engaged.

Trinity Hill Gimblett Gravels Syrah, Hawkes Bay The lions share of Trinity Hills grapes comes from the Gimblett Gravels region, in the lee of Roys Hill. The gravelly soils were left behind by the Ngaruroro River as it changed course over time. The low fertility soils offer little kindness to the vines, forcing them to work and work to produce small crops of great flavour and aromatic concentration. The low fertility soils offer little kindness to the vines, forcing them to work and work to produce small crops of great flavour and aromatic concentration.

A vein of ironstone runs through the vineyard producing Syrah of exceptional quality. Landau displays red fruits, a medium-bodied palate with whole bunch influence giving, spice, complexity and structure. Downer naturally ferments the Landau with approximately 50% whole bunches and whole berries in small one tonne, open fermenters. Again, oak maturation is minimal, with the wine raised in older French oak puncheons for roughly 9-10 months. Adelaide Hills is buzzing with change and innovation and Murdoch Hill is a producer that is now at the forefront of this action. Its worth pointing out that Murdoch Hills is not a new player in the Australian wine scene - the Estate vineyards were planted by the Downer family in 1998. But it has been the return of the familys youngest member, Michael Downer, to take over the winemaking duties in 2012, that has created the excitement here. Pumped from stages at Vietti (Piedmont), Best's Great Western and Shaw+Smith, Downer has wasted little time in applying his experience and passion to his family vineyard practices and winemaking. The most obvious changes he has implemented have been bringing the winemaking in house (it was previously outsourced to a neighbouring winery) and the creation of the Artisan range of single-parcel, minimal intervention bottlings. Tapping into the freshness gifted by his high-altitude vines, while keeping winemaking artefact to a minimum, Downers approach has led to a range of juicy, vibrant wines that highlight the detail and freshness of each site. We are not the only ones who have been following this young winemakers progress with interest - Downer was a Young Guns of Wine finalist in 2014 and the joint winner of the Winemakers Choice in 2015. His wines have also been getting great reviews and a number of gongs in recent times (including two wines in the top ten at the Adelaide Review Hot 100 last year). The winemaking specs include wild yeast ferments, various degrees of whole bunch, extended skin contact and more and more older wood in the aging. Bottling is without any fining or filtration. In terms of the vineyards, the original 1998 Estate plantings are situated around the winery, nestled in the undulating hills of Oakbank. The shallow red loam soils here are shot through with varying levels of schist and ironstone. Varieties include Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, Shiraz and Cabernet Sauvignon. In addition to the home vineyards, Downer also works with a range of nearby sites in Lobethal and Basket Range and the high altitude Uraidla vineyard in the Piccadilly Valley. These sources offer Downer a broad range of flavours, structures and textures with which to do his thing.

Previously labeled Graillot Project Syrah No. 2, the 2016 vintage was the last vintage of this wine to be bottled under the Graillot labelling. In Robs words, we have been working very hard on the viticulture of the Heathcote site for a long time now and we have been organic for the last few years. We have agreed to begin the certification process before the next harvest. As a result of this, and other farming practices that have been implemented, we believe that we have seen some significant improvement in the fruit and the expression of place and we all therefore feel, (myself, Max and Alain Graillot), that the time is right to emphasise the vineyard and region over the makers. The Graillots will continue with their involvement as before. Further, with the wines (from 2018) now made at Place of Changing Winds, the two Heathcote Syrah wines can now be seen as part of the Place of Changing Winds family. This is also reflected on the back label. In most other respects, the song remains the same. All the fruit is hand harvested and the 2017 was blended from spontaneous 100% whole bunch ferments. This 2017 was raised by Luke Lambert, mostly large format, neutral oak (predominantly Stockinger) and no sulphur used through the ageing. As always, the winemaking is extremely simple. 2017 needs little introduction, so lets just say that this vintage gave exceptionally pure, balanced fruit, which we think is borne out in the quality of this release.

Munda Syrah Kaurna Country Blewitt Springs (McLaren Vale) Syrah Munda chooses minimal intervention in the winery, second and third use oak regimes to showcase Munda, and prefers to bottle relatively early to reflect the brightness of their wines. Sourced from grapes grown on Kaurna Country, this Syrah is handpicked, partially destemmed and fermented in wild yeast for 10 days to extract the optimal flavour. Vibrant fruit combines with notes of red flowers, cacao and layers of cooking spice. A medium to full-bodied wine, the Syrah expresses cherry, blueberry, and plum on the palate with the quintessential biscuity tannins of Blewitt Spring lingering on the long finish.

Sulphite Free... Harvested at night to prevent oxidation, winemaking process avoid the use of SO2 to keep the freshness and protect the aromas of the grapes. Fermentation is based on natural yeasts and is maintained at a temperature of 28°C (82°F) to preserve the fruit aromas in the wine. Eye: deep red color Nose: red fruits aromas Palate: red fruits and spices flavors. Fine and well integrated tannins