Whispering Hills

Heading north out of Melbourne toward the Yarra Valley wine region you will see a turn off to the east (right) heading toward Warburton. If you decide to take this route you are deciding to miss the old, established, reknowned wineries of the Yarra Valley and go exploring a little. But you will find some gems down this road and Whispering Hills is one of them. Small, raggerdy exterior but with a comfortable cellar door displaying cheeses and other food stuffs also. The chap behind (or sometimes in front) of the counter loves talking about his wines, his vineyards and equally loves hearing how much you like his wine. Which I do. A good solid range of whites and reds, reasonably priced, with one notable exception which I'll get to in a moment. I liked the Riesling and the Chardonnay even more; I usually can't help purchasing at least one of these. But the reds is where it happens at this place. The Cab Sav is perhaps the best value Cab Sav in the valley for drinking now or down the track. The Bendigo Shiraz is also good but the standout, when it's available, is the exceptional Appassimento. Made from Cabernets in this case but with a production method that involves drying the grapes to drop the weight by about a third and therefore concentrate the sugars and other flavours. It sounds like it may be syruppy but it isn't. Luscious is the best descriptor I can think of. Only one vintage produced so far, 2005, but the result was amazing. One of my favourite wines. Thankfully my brother discovered it before one of the critics and we managed to purchase a few bottles before the price went though the roof. Nevertheless I await the next release.