Bindi: The Macedon Ranges Estate That Put Density Before Volume
Seven hectares, planted from 1988, farmed by one family. What to drink from $30, and which bottles to hide for a decade.
The first vines at Bindi went into the ground in 1988, on a sheep property outside Gisborne that a consultant had declared unsuitable for grapes a decade earlier. Bill Dhillon planted them anyway, with his son Michael, then twenty. The property is 170 hectares. The vineyard is seven. Everything Bindi has become sits on that ratio: a tiny planted area on shattered quartz over siltstone, five hundred metres up in the Macedon Ranges, surrounded by land the family has left alone.
Michael Dhillon took over the winemaking in the 1990s and has never expanded for the sake of it. The newest blocks, Darshan (2014) and Block 8 (2016), are planted at 11,300 vines per hectare, with small sections at double that. The idea is to ask each vine for a few hundred grams of fruit and no more. Prices at our end start at $30 and run to $85 for the wines on the shelf; the single-vineyard Pinots above that are allocated, and the gap between the numbers is mostly about how long you are prepared to wait.
The names on the labels
Bindi's labels are a family tree. Kostas Rind was the Lithuanian schoolmaster who taught Bill Dhillon at Ballarat Grammar and first put a glass of wine in his hand; his face was on every early label and he keeps the Chardonnay. Darshan is Bill's given name, dropped when he arrived in Australia from the Punjab in 1958. Dixon and Kaye are family too. The Dhillon range, which includes the Heathcote Shiraz and the Accidental Red, is Michael's own label for fruit grown off the home block.
| Wine | Price | Window | In brief |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dhillon Glenhope Accidental Red 2025 | $30 | Now–2028 | Merlot berries fermented on Shiraz juice. Chill it. Drink it young. |
| Pyrette Heathcote Shiraz 2023 | $40 | Now–2032 | Picked two weeks before the neighbours. Black fruit, savoury, not heavy. |
| Kostas Rind Chardonnay 2025 | $80 | Now–2037 | 1988 vines, volcanic soil over clay, 25% new oak. |
| Dixon Pinot Noir 2025 | $80 | 2029–2035 | The original 1988 planting plus the Kaye vineyard. The entry to Bindi Pinot. |
| Dhillon Col Mountain Shiraz 2019 | $85 | Now–2031 | Held back five years before release. 2 in stock. |
Four to start with
2025 Dixon Pinot Noir
NoseRed and black cherry, red and dark plum, rose petal, ginger and earth, with a red-berry lift that builds as the wine opens.
PalateSmooth and harmonious. Juicy cherry and plum on bright acidity and fine, gently grippy chalk-like tannin. Ten months in French oak, about 20% new.
CellarDrink 2029 – 2035 · Peak 2030 – 2033 · Decant 1 hr if opening young
Start here. It is drawn from the 1988 original planting, so you are tasting the oldest vines on the property at the lowest Pinot price. Roast duck or a mushroom dish; four years in the cellar if you can manage it.
2025 Kostas Rind Chardonnay
NoseOrange blossom, white nectarine, lemon and citrus peel, with subtle spice, chalky minerality and a little nuttiness.
PalateFocused and vibrant. Ripe stone fruit and citrus with creamy lees texture, precise acidity for drive, restrained oak, long mineral finish.
CellarDrink now – 2037 · Peak 2029 – 2034 · Serve 10–12°C
The white that argues Macedon can stand next to Burgundy on tension alone. Lovely now with a decant; the product page suggests 8 to 12 years and we would not disagree. Scallops, roast chicken, aged Gruyère.
2023 Pyrette Heathcote Shiraz
NoseBlack fruit first, then dark spice: anise, aniseed, clove and pepper.
PalateLong, moderate concentration, refreshing acidity. Savoury rather than sweet, which is rare for warm-climate Australian Shiraz.
CellarDrink now – 2032 · Peak 2027 – 2030 · Decant 45 min
Dhillon picks this about two weeks before anyone else in Heathcote, and the wine is the better for it. If you have written off Heathcote Shiraz as too big, this is the bottle that will change your mind, and at $40 the risk is low.
2025 Dhillon Glenhope Accidental Red
NoseRed cherry juice, wild blueberry and ripe stone fruit, lifted by violet and a dusting of brown spice. Earthier with air.
PalateSupple, juicy, mid-weight and silky. Crunchy red cherry and summer berries on bright natural acidity; fine polished tannin keeps it fresh.
CellarDrink now – 2028 · Peak now · Serve lightly chilled
It began in 2022 as leftover Merlot and Shiraz pressings that ended up in the same tank; now it is made on purpose. Nothing else in the range is this easy. Put it in the fridge for twenty minutes and pour generously.
The single vineyards
The top of the range is three Pinots from three neighbouring blocks, released together and allocated rather than listed. Block 5, planted 1992, is the flagship: red and black cherry, blood orange, warm earth, exotic spice. Block 8 is the most powerful, ripe cherry and plum on a firm frame, and the one to bury longest. Darshan is the perfumed counterpoint, sweet red cherry and herbs on silk. Drinking them side by side is the quickest way to understand why Dhillon planted at such density. If you want the 2023 or 2024 set, email us and we will tell you what is left. For a very different reading of Victorian Shiraz, the 2019 Col Mountain ($85, 2 in stock) was held back five years before release and drinks like a medium-weight Burgundian take on Heathcote. For another cool-climate estate that gets the Burgundy comparison, read our Felton Road guide.
Chasing a block, a vintage or the single-vineyard set? info@winemore.com.au · Wine More Cellars, Chadstone