Murdoch Hill 'Red Blend', Adelaide Hills, South Australia, Australia 2021
The Downer family has farmed this property outside the township of Oakbank since 1939, planting the first vines in 1998. Brothers Michael, Andrew, and Henry represent the third generation to care for the land. It was the return of youngest brother Michael in 2012 — after training at the University of Adelaide and honing his craft at Shaw + Smith, Vietti in Barolo, and Best's Great Western — that transformed Murdoch Hill into one of the Adelaide Hills' most closely watched producers. Named 2017 Young Gun of Wine, Michael brought winemaking fully in-house and introduced a range of single-site, minimal-intervention bottlings alongside the estate's classic range. The Red Blend is a signature of the estate: an unconventional but cohesive assemblage that reflects Michael's Italian and French formative years in equal measure.
- Winemaker: Michael Downer
- Farming: Holistic estate management; no herbicides or pesticides; organic fungicides only. Cane pruned with vertical shoot positioning (VSP); extensive shoot, canopy, and bunch thinning for yield control; hand harvested.
- Variety: 57% Cabernet Sauvignon, 18% Merlot, 14% Sangiovese, 11% Shiraz
- Terroir: Adelaide Hills GI; estate vineyard near Oakbank, Onkaparinga Valley, at 420 m elevation. Cabernet Sauvignon and Shiraz sourced from predominantly east-facing slopes that avoid harsh afternoon sun, producing fruit of greater finesse. Soils are sandy loam over medium clay subsoils with varying ironstone, quartz, and schist. The 2021 vintage followed a difficult 2020 — even flowering after early season rain and a long, cool, uninterrupted growing season that is widely regarded as one of the region's finest in recent years.
- Vinification: Whole bunches hand-harvested and destemmed into open fermenters; pump overs and hand plunging for gentle extraction of color, flavor, and tannin; extended skin maceration of 2–4 weeks
- Aging: 10 months in older French barriques; bottled unfined and unfiltered
- Tasting Notes: Bright ruby. Red and blue fruit — quandong, red currant, blueberry, and plum — with persistent savory notes of green and black pepper, strawberry acacia, and tomato vine. Supple and medium-bodied with fine-grained tannins and good freshness. Accessible now with the structure to develop over several years.
- Food Pairings: Roast lamb, grilled duck breast, herb-crusted pork, pasta with meat ragù, aged hard cheeses
- Scores: Wine Advocate 91
Murdoch Hill 'Red Blend', Adelaide Hills, South Australia, Australia 2021
The Downer family has farmed this property outside the township of Oakbank since 1939, planting the first vines in 1998. Brothers Michael, Andrew, and Henry represent the third generation to care for the land. It was the return of youngest brother Michael in 2012 — after training at the University of Adelaide and honing his craft at Shaw + Smith, Vietti in Barolo, and Best's Great Western — that transformed Murdoch Hill into one of the Adelaide Hills' most closely watched producers. Named 2017 Young Gun of Wine, Michael brought winemaking fully in-house and introduced a range of single-site, minimal-intervention bottlings alongside the estate's classic range. The Red Blend is a signature of the estate: an unconventional but cohesive assemblage that reflects Michael's Italian and French formative years in equal measure.
- Winemaker: Michael Downer
- Farming: Holistic estate management; no herbicides or pesticides; organic fungicides only. Cane pruned with vertical shoot positioning (VSP); extensive shoot, canopy, and bunch thinning for yield control; hand harvested.
- Variety: 57% Cabernet Sauvignon, 18% Merlot, 14% Sangiovese, 11% Shiraz
- Terroir: Adelaide Hills GI; estate vineyard near Oakbank, Onkaparinga Valley, at 420 m elevation. Cabernet Sauvignon and Shiraz sourced from predominantly east-facing slopes that avoid harsh afternoon sun, producing fruit of greater finesse. Soils are sandy loam over medium clay subsoils with varying ironstone, quartz, and schist. The 2021 vintage followed a difficult 2020 — even flowering after early season rain and a long, cool, uninterrupted growing season that is widely regarded as one of the region's finest in recent years.
- Vinification: Whole bunches hand-harvested and destemmed into open fermenters; pump overs and hand plunging for gentle extraction of color, flavor, and tannin; extended skin maceration of 2–4 weeks
- Aging: 10 months in older French barriques; bottled unfined and unfiltered
- Tasting Notes: Bright ruby. Red and blue fruit — quandong, red currant, blueberry, and plum — with persistent savory notes of green and black pepper, strawberry acacia, and tomato vine. Supple and medium-bodied with fine-grained tannins and good freshness. Accessible now with the structure to develop over several years.
- Food Pairings: Roast lamb, grilled duck breast, herb-crusted pork, pasta with meat ragù, aged hard cheeses
- Scores: Wine Advocate 91