Dalwhinnie vineyard was planted to a unique topographical amphitheatre which precipitates its own meso climate. The site is totally frost free and allows fruit to reach complete physiological ripeness in nine out of ten years. This rare confluence of temperate climes, cooler altitudes and parched Pyrenees soils, sublimate into one of Australia's most enduring and distinctive styles of Cabernet Sauvignon. A stunning wine, the overall impression is of ripe pure black fruits, layered with rich dark chocolate and seasoned by notes of violet and camphor.

Out in Victoria's west country, planted to rocky scenic uplands, parched vines struggle to survive, yielding tiny little berries of the most concentrated and intensely flavoured Cabernet Sauvignon. Ballarat architect Ewan Jones established Dalwhinnie in 1976, his eldest son David has managed it since 1983. It's the kind of family devotion to winemaking that one finds in the great estates of the world. At 595 metres above sea level, Dalwhinnie is the highest and most remote of the Pyrenees district vineyards. Surrounded and sheltered by the highest crags, this unique bowl of vines is a world unto itself, located in a naturally undulating trough which falls away from the hills.