Clive Hartley
Hanging Rock winery was established in 1982 by winemaker John Ellis OAM. Being in one, if not the coldest, wine regions on mainland Australia, John thought the Macedon Ranges would be ideal for making sparkling wines. He was right, but like many pioneers it proved a hard track to follow. The property was called Jim Jim and he planted a vineyard on a chilly south-facing slope at 650 metres high that became the site of the winery. He planted different clones of Pinot Noir including a rare Swiss clone called Mariafeldt as well as four clones of Chardonnay sourced from Mumm Champagne House in France.
John loves a richer style of Champagne, however creating that style takes decades of building up reserve wines, so he went about using a unique solera system for ageing base wines which eventually contained material that dated back, on average, more than 10 years. When he finally released the wine he simply called it “Macedon NV Cuvée” and numbered each release of the wine. He envisaged the name “Macedon” would become Australia’s equivalent to “Champagne”.
Last December Hanging Rock released Macedon Brut Cuvee XXI, their 21st release of the wine. John’s son Robert now makes the wines. Around three years ago the old solera system finally died of exhaustion, so they made the hard decision of starting again – this current release is a blend of vintages between 2013 and 2017. I feel that this wine doesn’t get the recognition it deserves – it is a bit of a well-kept secret. I rank it up there with the best sparkling wines in the country.
The XXI is a blend of 60% Pinot Noir and 40% Chardonnay and has seen partial malolactic fermentation with over 3 years on lees. The wine displays classic autolytic bready, yeasty aromas with a dash of granny smith apple that I’d expect from a good sparkling wine. It is textured, creamy and elegant on the palate with well balanced acidity.
Hanging Rock cellar door is a pleasure to visit with spectacular views towards the famous reserve. They offer free cellar door tasting of all their wines, which is a rarity these days, and is one of the few wineries in the Macedon Ranges that is open 7 days a week. When you visit, taste Jim Jim Three, a pinot gris, riesling and gewurztraminer blend, Five Generations and Jim Jim Chardonnay, Cambrian Rise Heathcote Shiraz and their Sparkling Heathcote Shiraz. These were my picks from my visit.
Clive Hartley is an award-winning wine writer, educator and consultant. Check out his fortnightly radio show on Hepburn Community Radio website called “put a cork in it”. Want to learn more about wine? Try his book the Australian Wine Guide (7th ed) – available for purchase from Paradise Books in Daylesford, Stoneman’s BookRoom in Castlemaine or from his website – www.australianwineguide.com.au
