Wilimee first caught my eye with a string of strong ratings from Jeni Port @ The Halliday Wine Companion. Some further digging revealed that Ben Ranken and Sally Richardson had acquired the Portree Vineyard in 2013. This site, with plantings as early of 1982, is bona fide 'old vine' material in the Macedon Ranges.

I worked through a range of the wines with Ben last month and, as expected, the local hereo varieties Chardonnay and Pinot Noir led the way. There are 2 tiers in the range - the Estate grown wines and a 'lower' tier that sources fruit from Macedon and Heathcote. For the wine nerds out there you will love the fact that the Estate wines are made/bottled according to soil types in the vineyard (Cambrian & Granite). Awesome!

And.....for good measure Ben and Sally are very serious about organic preparation and farming to ensure they can produce the best possible fruit from the 100% dry grown vineyard.

A few brief thoughts on the wines.......

2024 'Cambrian' Chardonnay - "1982 plantings @ 600m; good generosity; dry grown; good weight; fruity edges; less than 1kg per vine; 12 barrels. Huge presence for a MR chard."

2024 'By Wilimee' Sangiovese - "5 barrels; Kennedy vineyard in Heathcote; juicy early; firms a touch; easy going style."

2024 'By Wilimee' Fiano - "Heathcote (Kennedy) sourced; dry, almost savoury; 8yr old vines; made like chardonnay; pressed direct to barrel; old oak; wild ferment; full malo; it's very good; 350 cases made."