About the Producer
Curly Flat is one of the pioneers of cool-climate viticulture in Australia. Wine critic James Halliday of Halliday’s Wine Companion once commented that, for the region of Macedon, ‘site selection, the careful matching of site and grape variety, razor sharp canopy management, and relatively low yields are all prerequisites for success’. The Macedon Ranges is one of the coolest wine-growing regions on the Australian mainland, where high altitudes play an important role in moderating the temperature. Mount Macedon is just over 1000 metres high with the vineyards of Curly Flat between 400 and 700 metres. Jancis Robinson included Curly Flat in her list of recommended global Pinot Noir producers in an article for the Financial Times discussing global Pinot Noir and the fact that Burgundy, on account of climate change, had started to produce much more potent styles with higher alcohol. On their Chardonnay, she once commented of an early vintage that it was ‘an absolute dead ringer for mature white Burgundy’ and that ‘the French should be force fed with this (Curly Flat Chardonnay)’. Following the departure of former joint owner and winemaker Phillip Moraghan a few years ago, Jenifer Kolkka, the now sole owner of the estate, brought in Matt Harrop as winemaker. Despite being a native New Zealander, Matt had previously worked for several other Australian estates and, having a fondness for fine Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, he leapt at the chance to work at Curly Flat. Matt has looked to gently refine the approach at Curly Flat with a thorough understanding of its terroir. Matt has been instrumental in driving the quality of Curly Flat’s Chardonnay and Pinot Noir forward though evolution rather than revolution. The small refinements and tweaks in his viticultural and winemaking approaches have slowly but surely enhanced the overall quality from this well-established producer.
