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Mount Burrumboot Estate was born in 1999, when Andrew and Cathy Branson planted vines on the Home Block of the Branson family farm, "Donore", on the slopes of Mount Burrumboot, on the Mount Camel Range, above Colbinabbin.
Originally the vineyard was just another diversification of an already diverse farming enterprise of cereals, prime lambs and irrigated clover hay. However, the wine bug soon bit Andrew and Cathy, and so a winery was established.
The first wine was made in 2001 by contract - however, 2002 vintage saw the first wine made by Cathy in the machinery shed, surrounded by headers and tractors. Very primitive, and the appearance of the new 50 tonne winery in August 2002 was greeted with great enthusiasm!
Our winemaking philosophy is simple - as farmers, we allow ourselves to be guided by nature, and intervene as little as possible, both in the vineyard and the winery, and only when necessary.
"Good wine is made in the vineyard", and winemaker Cathy Branson ensures that the wine is carefully and gently handled during the vinification process, so that the vines and the fruit can be fully expressed in the final wine. Careful use of oak allows complex characters to develop, seamlessly blending with the massive black fruit characters.
We use traditional methods, so that the process is gentle, ensuring that harsh characters do not end up in the bottle. We use a basket press to obtain the wine from the must, and finish fermentation in a selection of French and American oak barriques. From then on, the wine is racked several times, and kept topped, with minimal additions. We do not filter our red wines, so that we maintain the integrity and full fruit characters, so that our wine tells the story of the vines, of terroir, of the vineyard.
The Heathcote Wine Region has developed a reputation for producing some of the best Shiraz in Australia. Certainly, this reputation is well deserved, and a tasting of a range of wines from across the region certainly proves it.
The secret is in the fantastically ancient soils of the region. The Mount Camel Range, on which Mount Burrumboot is located, is a range of hills running north to south, and characterised by the brilliantly coloured red Pre-Cambrian soil - some of the oldest soils in Australia. It is these soils that chiefly contribute to the terroir of the region. The climate, warm in summer but cool in winter, the east facing aspect of Mount Burrumboot Estate, and the prevailing conditions, make the Mount Camel Range the optimum area to grow wine grapes, as shown by the amount of development by large wine companies along the Range near Colbinabbin, our local town.
Certainly the "feel" of the area has undergone some changes over the last 10 years, as cereal crops and fat lambs give way to vineyards and wineries. The dry conditions over recent years have produced some fantastic wines. The amount of wind, and absence of rain, means that disease pressure is very low, something we take advantage of at Mount Burrumboot , in that we are able to use organic substances and practices in the vineyard in our efforts to avoid diseases in our vines.
Of all the wineries in the Heathcote Wine Region, we have the widest range
of wine varietals. Our current releases are not only the 2004 Shiraz, 2004
Merlot and 2004 Petit Verdot, but the 2005 Sangiovese, 2005 Tempranillo,
2005 Gamay, 2006"Elle Rougit " ("She Blushes") Rose, and our 2006
Marsanne/Viognier blend.
What are they?
Shiraz - The Heathcote stalwart, this variety in our vineyard produces a wine that is typically Heathcote in its intensity of colour and flavour, but with elegance and finesse.
Merlot - Merlot is a variety that we pride ourselves on, and in the 2007 Halliday's Wine Companion, our Merlot was rated as the best Merlot produced in Heathcote. At a time when Merlot receives some bad press, ours goes from strength to strength, and is extremely popular with consumers. As we say, what's NOT to like about our Merlot?
Petit Verdot - A variety usually found in the Bordeaux blends, where is provides tannin structure and framework to the wines. It is often difficult to ripen, producing wines that are tannic, astringent and green, but in our vineyard, Petit Verdot is able to ripen slowly and fully, achieving full ripeness without the loss of acid and the high alcohol often associated with such ripeness. Definitely one of our most stand out wines.
Sangiovese -This is the Italian variety used in Chianti. It can produce lighter, more savoury wines, or inky monsters, but in our vineyard it produces a mid weight wine, with the intensity of flavour and colour that we associate with Heathcote, but with a savoury character that lends itself to the rustic foods of Italy .
Tempranillo - A Spanish variety, with great depth of fruit and a hint of vanilla and spice. In Spain, it is used in many wine blends as the main component, most famously in the wines of the Rioja region of Northern Spain. Again, lends itself beautifully to food, but stands up well on its own.
Gamay - An unusual variety for this region, it is a French grape that makes Beaujolais in its home territory. There is only a handful of wineries making Gamay in Australia, and ours stacks up pretty well against the best of them. You need to mentally change gear when you taste Gamay - forget Heathcote here! Gamay is a light bodied red wine, a bit earthy but with some delightful red berry fruits. A summer time wine, but no lightweight; this is a serious wine of great interest and complexity, with less obvious tones than most Heathcote red wines.
Marsanne/Viognier - This is a blend of two white grapes, from the Rhone in France. With only small plantings in Australia, Marsanne is most often seen in the Goulburn Valley. The blend that we produce highlights the best characteristics of each variety - the nose of tropical and stone fruits is dominated by Viognier, with the palate more about Marsanne in its length and weight. A dry, zesty wine, with good ageing potential for a white wine.
"Elle Rougit" Rose - We were the first Heathcote producers to make a rose, back in 2004. "Elle Rougit" means "She Blushes", a name chosen because at that time, winemaker Cathy Branson was vaguely embarrassed to have made a rose in Heathcote, the region known for big reds! However, we persisted, driven by a love for the dry roses of Spain and Southern France. Our first rose was made from Shiraz by the "saignee" method, where juice is "bled" off from the crushed Shiraz must, after 8 hours, before the colour has deepened. Our second Rose was made from a blend of Tempranillo, Sangiovese and Merlot in 2005. In 2006, we blended Tempranillo, Sangiovese and Shiraz, with the fruit for this wine being specially picked early, to keep the rose wine light, dry and not too alcoholic. Don't let anyone put you off rose. A good rose has all the features of any good wine - aroma, flavour, length, complexity, interest. but easy to drink over a spring lunch, al fresco, good friends, good weather. A perfect wine for Australia 's warmer months.
Check out Our Wines for more details on our wine varieties.
We show our wines modestly, entering selected wine shows. To date, our wines have won medals at every show entered, including a gold for our 2002 Shiraz at the San Francisco International Wine Show 2004.
Our wines are available from the following places.
Melbourne and surrounds
Carma Cellars, South Melbourne
Providore, Docklands
Europa Cellars, East Melbourne
Farm Gate Wines, Croydon
Wonga Park Cellars
King and Godfree's, Carlton
Canterbury Wines
Leo's Fine Food and Wine, Kew
Cellarbrations Yarra Junction
Coldstream Cellars
Victorian Wine Centre
South Melbourne Cellars
Altona Wine and Spirits, Altona
Cloudwine Cellars, South Melbourne and Camberwell
Nicks Wine Merchants
Cookie, Swanston St , Melbourne
Gipps St Cellars; East Melbourne
Nillumbik Cellars, Diamond Creek
East Melbourne Cellars, East Melbourne
The McKinnon Hotel
Doc's Liquor, Ringwood
Carringbush Hotel
Surrey Hills Cellars
Kallista Cellars
The Westernport Hotel
Olinda Cellars, Olinda
Seville IGA
Flagstaff Cellars, Melbourne
The Parkview Hotel, Nth Fitzroy
Switchback Cellars, Chirnside Park
Parkhill Cellars, North Melbourne
Max Wine, South Melbourne
Smith St Cellar, Fitzroy
Attica Restaurant
Public House
Presse Wine Bar, Elwood
Cielo Bleu, Plenty
Centonove, Kew
The European Restaurant, Melbourne
Otis Restaurant, Albert Park
Pelican Restaurant, St Kilda
Il Cantuccio, Carlton
Funkies, Toorak
Clare Castle Hotel, Port Melbourne
Loquat, Sorrento
The Vine Hotel, Collingwood
Hotel Lindrum, City
Cafe Cento Venti, City
MoVida, City
Rubicon Restaurant, West Melbourne
The Bank Food and Wine, Newport
Regional Victoria
Cellar & Store, Heathcote
Emeu Inn, Heathcote
Wine Bank on View, Bendigo
Lynzbar, Stanhope
The Criterion Hotel, Rochester
The Shamrock Hotel, Rochester
Kits Café, Rochester
Rushworth Provender, Rushworth
Madison Spa, Moama
Heathcotian Bistro, Heathcote
San Remo Foodworks
Other States
Magnetic Island International Resort, QL
Barefoot Café, Magnetic Island , QL
Watermark Hotel/Restaurant, Townsville, QL
McGuires Paddington Tavern, Brisbane, QL