The Macedon Ranges
Reviews
Jeremy OliverEpis 2015 Pinot Noir 96/100 Gold
“Spotlessly made this brambly and musky Pinot Noir slowly unfolds a floral perfume of red cherries and raspberries. It’s highly knit with tight cedar oak.”
Campbell MattinsonEpis 2015 Pinot Noir 95/100 Gold
“Epis Pinot Noir right in the zone. First sip and I was hooked. It’s one of those forget the price I want me some wine”
Wine Showcase Magazine 22/3/17Epis 2015 Pinot Noir 95/100 Gold
“Congratulations on a solid result your wines were tasted blind and were very well received by the tasting panel. You have had a great result.”
Jeremy Oliver"Best Australian Pinot Noir of the Year."
In Jeremy Oliver's new publication, he gave our 'Epis' 2012 Pinot Noir 96/100.
The Latest News from Domaine Epis
The 30 year old Epis vineyard at Woodend in the Macedon Ranges continues to excel.
Through recent cool and late seasons the low cropping vines have ripened their crop in mid autumn and produced balanced, intense and age worthy wines.
Now at 86 years, Alec is less hands on these days but remains passionate about his vineyard and wines. Recent vintages have seen Alec assisted by Michael Dhillon and Gilles Lapalus with Simon Glover managing the process for the health of the vineyard. It has been a great pleasure for friends to step up and help a dear colleague ensure the high standards of viticulture and wine quality at Domaine Epis continue.
The 2022 season was long and cool and a full dedication to fruit health and a patience for every degree of ripeness were key. At Epis there can be no rush to ripeness, the elevated site demands many deep breaths as the days become shorter and the nights cooler. There is a special quality in the Epis vineyard to arrive at flavour ripeness right at the end of the season, where the fruit is imbued with intensity and finesse whilst showing brightness and restraint. The wines, like the ripening, take time.
The Vineyard
Our Woodend vineyard is 620 metres above sea level, and we grow Pinot Noir and Chardonnay grapes here. These vines are now 30 years old.
We have recently sold the Kyneton vineyard and are selling through the remaining wine stocks. This vineyard is 250 metres above sea level with Cab/Sav vines and Merlot vines at 45 and 25 years old, respectively.
The Woodend Vineyard is planted on an undulating slope facing east, with the rows running North–South. Kyneton is not as hilly but has the same planting setup. They have the same soil structure, which is half a metre of rich topsoil – 5 metres of Clay and followed by many metres of Basalt. This is the perfect soil mixture for the growing of cool-climate grapes.
Bud Burst is in the middle of September, and we nearly always pick about the middle of April. Vines are only watered prior to flowering in early December, as this enhances the vines and the fruit for the long journey ahead. We don’t water anymore because we like the vines to stress a little, as this helps the flavours and structures when the wine is made.
It doesn’t matter how good a winemaker is; you cannot make a great wine out of grapes that have been overwatered or overcropped.
We purposely crop at one and a half tonnes per acre as this enables us to get the flavours and ripeness we require to make terrific wine.
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