The wines of Pondalowie Vineyards, Bendigo, Victoria

PO Box 89, Bridgewater on Loddon, Victoria 3516, Australia 
Cellar Door: 6 Main Street (Calder Hwy, A79),  Bridgewater on Loddon, Victoria 3516
Email: wine@pondalowie.com.au Website: www.pondalowie.com.au 
Tel:  +61 3 5437 3332

Aussie Dominic Morris (right) is a flying winemaker who for some years has been responsible for the wine at Quinta do Crasto in the Douro, as well as working widely elsewhere. Together with his wife Krystina (also a winemaker), he’s now doing his own thing at Pondalowie in Bendigo (Victoria), in addition to the consulting work. Dominic and Krystina now have 25 acres of vines spread over two different vineyards.

First, there’s a 10 acre property owned by Dominic’s parents which was planted in 1996 with Shiraz, Cabernet and Malbec. Then, a year later they planted their own property with Shiraz, Tempranillo, Cabernet and Viognier. Everything is done by hand, and the vineyards are trained on a vertical shoot positioning system with moveable wires. Vine spacing is closer than usual in Australia in order to help restrict yields.

These are wines that are made in an unashamedly forward style that emphasizes fruit quality, and with the more ambitious bottlings is bolstered by generous oak. Quality is pretty high across the board.

Pondalowie MT Tempranillo 2005
Lovely vivid, pure fruit here. Juicy, rich, sweet red fruits dominate. Nice stuff and quite accessible. Very good+ 87/100

Pondalowie Vineyeard Blend 2004
Cabernet/Shiraz/Tempranillo. Really nice open, spicy, fruity nose leads to a rich, spicy, juicy palate with good acid. Quite intense with lots of fruit. Tasty. Very good+ 89/100

Pondalowie Shiraz 2004
Full, intense, spicy oaky nose shows chocolatey dark fruits. The palate is concentrated, dense and quite lush with lovely dark fruits and some tannin. A big style and quite delicious. Full on. Very good/excellent 91/100

Pondalowie Shiraz Viognier 2004
Lovely open bright fruity nose. Vivid fresh dark fruits on the palate. Very attractive, spicy, open and rich. Very good/excellent 90/100

Pondalowie Special Release Tempranillo 2003
Very appealing spicy berry fruit on the nose leads to a concentrated, full, spicy palate which shows good freshness and some oak influence. Delicious. Very good+ 89/100

Pondalowie Special Release Shiraz 2003
Really full, bold, intense spicy nose with amazing dark fruits, spice, chocolate and vanilla notes. Very forward. Massively concentrated rich, dense, spicy and tarry on the palate with lovely richness. A very forward style indeed. Very good/excellent 93/100

UK agent: Australian Wine Agencies (www.australian-wine.co.uk)

Wines tasted 02/06
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