Bindi Block 5 Pinot Noir 2023 750ml

Bindi Block 5 Pinot Noir 2023 is a rare and beautifully detailed single vineyard Pinot Noir from one of the Macedon Ranges’ most celebrated producers. Pure red berries and rose petals are layered with darker cherry fruit, subtle earth and fine spice, while the palate is fresh, creamy, expansive and remarkably seamless. You'll love this wine if you enjoy Pinot Noir with perfume, precision and genuine vineyard character. It has enough brightness and silky fruit to impress now, yet its deeper structure and fine tannins promise an even more rewarding experience with careful cellaring. Production from Block 5 is extremely limited, making this a special bottle for collectors, memorable dinners or anyone seeking one of Australia’s benchmark Pinot Noirs.

The cool 2023 season produced a wine of delicacy and restraint, while exceptionally low yields helped preserve intensity, complexity and structure. The result feels refined and graceful rather than heavy, with flavours that continue to build and unfold across the palate.

Wine Style

Wine Style: Fragrant, refined and finely structured Pinot Noir

Wine Sweetness: Dry

Wine Body: Light to medium bodied

Tasting Notes

Aroma: Rose petals, raspberry and red cherry, with darker berry fruit, sweet spice, fresh herbs and subtle earthy notes.

Palate: Fresh and creamy, with pure red fruit and cherry flavours gradually building across the palate. Superfine tannins and vibrant acidity provide precision, while savoury spice and darker fruit bring depth.

Finish: Long, seamless and finely detailed, with lingering cherry, red berries, gentle herbs and powdery tannins.

Halliday Wine Companion - 97 Points 

Everything about this wine, I love: its elegance, its precision and definition. It feels light at first but flavours build, the cherries and pips, the sweet nutty spices, the dash of Campari and fleck of fresh herbs. It’s on the lighter side of medium bodied, with superfine, powdery tannins and matching acidity all heading to a lingering finish. Jane Faulkner

Serving Suggestions

Serve slightly below room temperature in a generous Burgundy glass. The wine will benefit from around thirty minutes in a decanter when enjoyed young, allowing its fragrance, fruit and fine tannin structure to open.

Pair with roast duck, quail, mushroom risotto, roast chicken, glazed pork, grilled salmon or earthy vegetable dishes. Its combination of perfume, freshness and savoury detail also makes it an excellent match for truffle, porcini mushrooms and soft washed rind cheeses.

About The Block 5 Vineyard

Block 5 is a tiny vineyard of approximately half a hectare, planted in 1992 directly in front of the Bindi winery. The sheltered site faces north and is planted entirely to the MV6 Pinot Noir clone, allowing the fruit to ripen slowly while retaining fragrance, acidity and detail.

The vineyard is heavily scattered with quartz, with generally infertile soils containing shattered quartz over siltstone, sandstone and clay, together with sections of volcanic topsoil. These demanding conditions naturally restrict vine growth and yields, helping produce fruit with concentration, mineral character and fine tannin structure.

Block 5 typically produces darker fruit, greater spice, more earthiness and firmer structure than Bindi’s Original Vineyard Pinot Noir. It often requires additional bottle age to reveal its full suppleness and delicacy, although even in youth it shows remarkable depth and presence. Annual production generally ranges from only 150 to 200 dozen bottles.

Winemaking

Bindi follows a restrained approach designed to preserve the natural character of the vineyard. Fermentation takes place without added yeast, yeast nutrients or enzymes. The red wines are gently worked, delicately pressed and matured with minimal movement through the cellar. No fining and only restricted filtration are used.

Block 5 Pinot Noir matures for approximately 15 to 17 months in French oak barrels, with around 35 percent new oak. The oak builds texture and structure without dominating the fruit, allowing the vineyard’s perfume, spice and earthy character to remain at the centre of the wine.

About Bindi Wines And The Macedon Ranges

Bindi is the Dhillon family property near Gisborne in Victoria’s Macedon Ranges, approximately 50 kilometres from Melbourne. The farm was purchased by the family during the 1950s, with Bill and Michael Dhillon establishing the first Chardonnay and Pinot Noir vineyards in 1988.

The property covers approximately 170 hectares, although only seven hectares are planted to vines. Much of the remaining land is maintained as native grassland, remnant bushland and managed eucalypt plantation. The vineyard and winery philosophy centres on balance, purity, conservation and the clear expression of individual sites.

Michael Dhillon worked alongside Bindi’s original winemaker Stuart Anderson before taking full responsibility for the wines in 1998. His experience includes vintages in Champagne, the Rhône Valley and Tuscany, along with extensive time studying the vineyards and producers of Burgundy.

The Macedon Ranges is one of mainland Australia’s coolest wine regions. Bindi’s vineyards sit at approximately 500 metres above sea level, where cool nights and a long growing season help Pinot Noir develop perfume, fine acidity, savoury complexity and excellent ageing potential.

Collector’s Note

Block 5 is Bindi’s flagship Pinot Noir and was elevated to the highest tier of the eighth Langton’s Classification. Only 21 Australian wines were included in this leading category, reflecting the label’s strong reputation, proven ageing ability and enduring collector demand.

The combination of a tiny half hectare vineyard, very small production and a highly regarded cool season vintage makes the 2023 release particularly appealing for collectors. This is a wine that clearly reflects its vineyard and should continue developing for many years.

Cellaring Potential

The wine may be enjoyed now after decanting, particularly for its pure red fruit, rose perfume and creamy texture. Bindi recommends at least seven years of further development for the wine to approach its best, with the vineyard’s history suggesting it will continue drinking beautifully well beyond that point.

Cellar under suitable conditions until approximately 2038 or longer. Over time, expect the fresh berries and florals to evolve towards deeper cherry, forest floor, dried herbs, spice and earthy complexity.

Details

Producer: Bindi Wines

Vintage: 2023

Variety: Pinot Noir

Clone: MV6

Region: Macedon Ranges, Victoria

Vineyard: Block 5

Wine Style: Fragrant and finely structured single vineyard Pinot Noir

Wine Sweetness: Dry

Wine Body: Light to medium bodied

Vineyard Size: Approximately half a hectare

Vineyard Planted: 1992

Vineyard Elevation: Approximately 500 metres

Oak Maturation: 15 to 17 months in French oak

New Oak: Approximately 35 percent

Alcohol: 13.5 percent

Closure: Diam

Bottle Size: 750ml