The true beauty of Dalwhinnie is best experienced on clear, sunny days: vines sway, eagles soar and the full majesty of one of the best cellar door views in Victoria can be embraced from the hilltop deck. Order a glass of wine, a platter of antipasto or cheeses and drink in the views and the quiet. Dalwhinnie’s isolation lends it an appealing tranquillity, it’s easy to see why the three-bedroom Eagles Nest cottage further up the hill is in high demand.
Take up owner and winemaker David Jones’ offer of a one hour personalised vineyard walk ($70) and do make a note to ask about his policy of low cropping and what that does to develop concentrated fruit flavour across the Dalwhinnie range. If there’s a signature style to the range it’s complexity. David Jones works hard to bring it to a small bunch of grapes: chardonnay, shiraz, cabernet sauvignon with just a dash of pinot noir. By concentrating on just a few grape varieties, he does his best work. Start with The Hut range and work through to the Moonambel selection, finishing with the single vineyards. Jeni Port