WINE > Wilimee Pinot Noir, 2024 (17/20)

There are Pinot Noirs that announce themselves loudly, and then there are wines that arrive with the quiet authority of deep soil and older vines. The Wilimee Pinot Noir 2024 is unequivocally the latter — a wine that carries the ancient weight of rare Cambrian and granite geology, shaped by cool altitude and a pair of hands that learned restraint in the cellars of Burgundy.

APPEARANCE >

Poured into the glass, the 2024 Wilimee Pinot Noir presents a vivid, dark ruby with a deep crimson core — unusually dense for a Macedon Pinot, a signature of the estate’s granite soils that concentrate colour even at altitude. The hue is luminous and almost brooding, with a clarity at the rim that gives way to a translucent, vibrant edge. It sits confidently in the glass, somewhere between restrained cool-climate delicacy and old-vine intensity.

NOSE >

The aromatics are composed and layered — there is no rush here. Red cherry, wild strawberry and dark plum open the conversation, followed almost immediately by a whisper of Sichuan spice, forest floor and dried herbs. A faint earthiness — the kind you associate with Cambrian soils, one of the oldest geological formations in Australia — breathes beneath the fruit. There is also a flinty, stony minerality that speaks directly to the granite terroir on which these 40-plus-year-old vines are planted. Time in glass rewards patience: faint wisps of bacon fat, autumn leaf and subtle whole-bunch spice slowly reveal themselves.

LENGTH >

On the palate, the 2024 vintage delivers what the nose quietly promises. Fine, supportive tannins — a hallmark of Ben Ranken’s gentle, Pinot-centric winemaking — carry the fruit through a mid-palate that is both juicy and elegant. Freshness and structure coexist in harmony: wild-yeast fermentation lends complexity and a certain vitality, while time on lees in old French barriques adds texture without obscuring varietal purity. The finish is long and mineral, trailing off with a savoury persistence that begs another sip. This is a wine that will reward another two to four years in the cellar, though it is difficult to resist now.

PAIRING >

The Wilimee Pinot Noir 2024 is a natural companion to roasted duck with cherry jus, or a slow-braised lamb shoulder with rosemary and garlic. Its fine tannins and bright acidity make it equally at home alongside a selection of aged hard cheeses — a Manchego or a mature aged cheddar finds an ideal foil in the wine’s earthy spice (and last night that is exactly what we did). For a more casual setting, it is a perfect partner to a wood-fired margherita pizza or a silky mushroom risotto, this is where its forest-floor character sings. Do not overlook it alongside grilled salmon with a pinot-noir reduction — the wine’s lighter body and acidity bridge the gap beautifully.

VINTAGE >

The 2024 Macedon Ranges vintage was defined by a moderately cool growing season following below-average winter and spring rainfall. Early summer brought higher-than-average rainfall and wind, which affected flowering in December, resulting in low to moderate yields across the region. A warm and dry February and March then brought harvest slightly earlier than usual, concentrating flavour and delivering high-quality Pinot Noir fruit. The season’s cool elegance is unmistakable in the glass: this is a vintage that rewarded patient, low-intervention viticulturalists — precisely the kind of growers Wilimee’s Ben Ranken and Sally Richardson have become.

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