Stuart Dudine is talking marsanne – and his not-so-secret love for the Rhône Valley – a region that, he admits, formed the inspiration for his one-man label, Alkimi.
“After spending time working in the Rhône, and especially with these white varieties that have high potential in Australia, yet don't seem to be all that appreciated... I wanted to really focus on that,” he explains.
After a few phone calls, Stuart came across a small parcel in Mount Evelyn, at the base of the Dandenong Ranges. “It's quite a [rural] suburban area, and these vines were on the verge of being pulled out. At that time, the vines were in their early 20s. The owner couldn’t sell it, so I struck up a relationship.”
Seven years later, Stuart now leases and farms the one-acre, dry-farmed Willow Glen vineyard – his own small corner of the Yarra.
“I believe there’s old vine character in the wines which I see each year,” he says. ”Mount Dandenong is an extinct volcano, with lots of different soil profiles: granite, yellow loams, etc. And, at 200 metres above sea level, it enjoys a great climate for growing grapes.”
”Marsanne can be picked early and still get great texture and flavour – but [my] wines have evolved and I've come back to a bit more ripeness, weight and texture. I enjoy drinking wines that are a bit richer and fuller these days – not just one dimensional wines but balanced, complex and interesting.”Of course, marsanne is not the only string to Alkimi's bow.
Chardonnay & Pinot Noir
Being Yarra-based, it's only natural for chardonnay and pinot to feature – no matter how unapologetically enthusiastic you are for Rhône varieties. Stuart laughs.
“Yarra chardonnay to me is effortless,” he enthuses. ”It’s the the absolute bee's knees. Sure – chardonnay from the Upper Yarra has definitive characters, which I feel are more conducive to higher end, elegant chardonnay. But the Valley throughout can do it all. I know I’m working with a variety that can provide excellent fruit, and result in excellent wine, year in year out.”
Willowlake Vineyard Chardonnay & Pinot Noir
From his time spent working at Oakridge, as well as Kellybrook, Stu was well-positioned to get his hands on some fruit from the famed Willowlake vineyard in Gladysdale. He's been making pinot noir from the site for a number of years, but 2021 was the first time a parcel of chardonnay became available – an opportunity Stu jumped at.
“The block is tricky to pick, in that you only have a really narrow window – it can be underripe one week then a few days later can already be showing overripe characters,” Stu explains, adding that his past experience with the site helped him with getting everything just right.
”Leaning into a really richer palate weight and depth, too – vine age helps, as does great vineyard management, and a great season, which 2021 was.”
2024 was Stu's eighth year crafting pinot from the Willowlake vineyard, a site he's passionate about. “The beautiful thing about this vineyard is its power, that you see every year in the pinot. There's this intensity – it's deceptively light to look at – but then there's all these layers and flavours; something to linger and chew on.”
Duck Pond Vineyard Pinot Noir 2022
At the base of the Mount Dandenong range, around two to three kilometres from the marsanne vineyard, the east-facing Duck Pond site sits on eroded volcanic soil, on a west-facing part of the range.
”This is a really hungry and exposed site – vines struggle, lots of intensity in the fruit,” says Stu. ”I wanted to create something different to Willowlake – a lot of time of skins and cap management, a more savoury, darker, tannic style of pinot, atypical of the Yarra.”
“I wanted to create something with a bit more grunt.”
