Helen's Hill Estate Breachley Block Single Vineyard Chardonnay 2010
Style: White Wine
Closure: Screwcap
Helen's Hill Estate Breachley Block Single Vineyard Chardonnay 2010
Camberwell
Burke Road
Camberwell VIC 3124
Australia
Producer: Helen's Hill
Country: Australia
Region: Yarra Valley
Vintage: 2010
Critic Score: 96
Alcohol: 11.9%
Size: 750 ml
Drink by: 2028
Helen's Hill is a 150 acre property in Coldstream with some of the finest views of the Yarra Valley. The Chardonnay is sourced from vines from Breachley block, a patch of northeast facing Chardonnay vines that are the oldest in the vineyard. The vines were planted in 1984, 13 years before the rest of the vineyard, and produce exceptional fruit at low yields. The result is a beautiful cool climate chardonnay that is one of the best value Yarra Valley chardonnays year in and year out.
"Has been one of my favourite chardonnays over a number of years and just keeps getting better and better. At 13 years of age it is intense, powerful and wonderfully complex, but still retains its freshness and finesse thanks to acidity woven in a seamless chord running the length of the palate." Nick Munday (Tasted Jan 2023)
Expert reviews
"Has been one of my favourite chardonnays over a number of years and just keeps getting better and better. At 13 years of age it is intense, powerful and wonderfully complex, but still retains its freshness and finesse thanks to acidity woven in a seamless chord running the length of the palate." Nick Munday, Canterbury Wines - 96+ points (Tasted Jan 2023)
"Pale straw-green; has (just) stayed on the right side of ripeness balance; barrel fermentation and maturation in French oak has been perfectly judged, providing support and a degree of complexity to an elegant wine with equal contributions of grapefruit, white peach and nectarine. 11.9% alc." James Halliday, Halliday Wine Companion - 94 points
About the winery
In 1997, the Nalder and McIntosh families purchased a 150 acre property in Coldstream with some of the finest views of the Yarra Valley and replanted the existing orchard as a vineyard. Today 110 acres are under vine.
The story of Helen's Hill began long before a vine was ever planted in Coldstream. It's a story of two families with a shared love of farming and wine. Having been dragged away from the land to careers in medicine and finance, they always yearned to return to a life they loved. So when they inspected a property now known as Helen's Hill Estate in 1996, they decided it was too good of an opportunity to pass up.
The former owner John Frazer, a businessman working in Collins Street, proposed marriage in the 1950s to a young lady by the name of Helen. Helen agreed but on one condition; John had to buy a farm as Helen longed for a life on the land. John bought land in the Yarra Valley and the couple lived on the farm and started a family. Tragically, Helen was diagnosed with cancer and passed away, leaving John and two very young children to carry on. While showing Allan Nalder and Andrew McIntosh around the estate some 40 years later, John recalled a number of incidents – "this is where Helen bogged the tractor", "this is where Helen planted our first apple tree" and "this is where Helen…" At the completion of the inspection when they were standing atop the highest hill enjoying the views of the Yarra Valley, John recalled that in her last weeks Helen would love nothing more than to sit on this hill and look out over the sweeping farmland. He said, "This was Helen's Hill."
The new owners had a Helen in the family too, so the name 'Helen's Hill' seemed like the perfect name for their vineyard and winery.
Helen's Hill specialize in Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. 65 acres of pinot noir are planted to MV6, 114, 115 and a Pommard clone, while 16 acres of chardonnay are planted to PEN58, P76 and Mendoza clones. In addition, there are smaller plantings of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Syrah, Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Grigio. The vineyard has a number of hills running through the property with different soil types and micro climates, which allow the different grape varieties to flourish.
"It's no coincidence we are where we are. We scoured Coldstream in the Yarra Valley to find the perfect site. We were looking for three things - hills, microclimates and the iconic Yarra Valley soil.
The combination of these three factors is why we chose Helen's Hill to put down our roots, as we knew this climate would make our wines truly interesting and unique to others in the region. To this day, these factors define us and the wines we produce.
The French call it terroir. We call it Helen's Hill." Helen's Hill
Victoria
Victoria is home to more than 800 wineries across 21 wine regions. The regions are Alpine Valley, Beechworth, Bendigo, Geelong, Gippsland, Glenrowan, Goulburn Valley, Grampians, Heathcote, Henty, King Valley, Macedon Ranges, Mornington Peninsula, Murray Darling, Pyrenees, Rutherglen, Strathbogie Ranges, Sunbury, Swan Hill, Upper Goulburn and Yarra Valley.
Victoria's first vines were planted at Yering in the Yarra Valley in 1838. By 1868 over 3,000 acres had been planted in Victoria, establishing Victoria as the premier wine State of the day. Today, the original vineyards planted at Best's Wines are among the oldest and rarest pre-phylloxera plantings in the world.
Victoria's climate varies from hot and dry in the north to cool in the south and each wine region specialises in different varietals. For example, Rutherglen in the north is famous for its opulent Muscats and Topaque and bold reds, while the many cooler climate regions near Melbourne produce world class Chardonnay and pinot Noir. Victoria is truly a wine lover's playground.