Winemakers: Al & Adriana
Where: Longwarry, West Gippsland, Victoria, Australia
Size: 3 ha vines, 25 ha property including cattle, bushland, sheep, chickens and ducks
Main Varieties: Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, Syrah, Viognier & Tempranillo
Viticulture: Regenerative agriculture, biodynamic practices
Quick note: Big focus on native biodiversity, re-establishing wildlife habitat, regenerative farming practices and ‘modern’ hand work
For over a year we had heard of Bandicoot Run, a young couple dedicating themselves to excellent agriculture and crafting pure wines just outside of Melbourne. Hilariously when writing them to see if we could visit, we realised Al and Maddy actually went to school together! So, after many years of stories to catch up on, we indeed found that Al & Adriana make some of Australia’s most outstanding wines.
Bandicoot Run is the name of Al & Adriana’s winery based out of their family farm. Located in West Gippsland, about 1-hour-drive west of Melbourne, in Victoria, the farm is 20 hectares, 3 hectares of which are planted with vines. They farm Hereford beef cattle, vegetables and fruit trees, and share the property with a flock of ducks, chickens and the adorable and focused dog, San. Sitting at approx. 30m above sea level not far inland from the south coast, the soil is comprised of much sandy clay.
The property was quite bare of biodiversity when it was purchased by Al’s father in the early 1990’s and the family have been consistently regenerating the land over the last 30 years with thousands of native plantings. The first vines were planted in the early 2000s with the classic varieties; Syrah, Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. It was in 2017 when Al & Adriana both left their work in architecture and started working in vineyards and wineries, and planted a further 2,6 hectares of vines with Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, Syrah, Viognier, Tempranillo.
The vineyards were set up organically from the very beginning with a biological philosophy as they care deeply about creating the healthiest environment for all to live in, as they share the land with our plants & animals including the Southern Brown Bandicoots, which are a nationally endangered species, and for whom the winery is named after. Al & Adriana live on the farm, surrounded by the vineyards and complete all the farming and winemaking together, truly living and evolving the relationship with their vines at each moment of each season.
The vast majority of their focus and effort is concentrated on the farming of their site with the winemaking being extremely low-tech. The grapes are handpicked, often by just the two of them, in the cool of the early morning into 20 L buckets, and fruit is processed in their winery shed without ever having travelled more than a few hundred meters. This means that the bunches are in immaculate condition at the point of vinification. The wine is moved as little as possible, with all transfers done by gravity and in general all bottling is done directly from the vessel with no racking to preserve as much energy and life as possible. They are using a variety of stainless steel, oak barrels and concrete eggs for fermentation and maturation.
It is a joy to represent Bandicoot Run so far away from the farm itself, and we love to see Australian winemakers focusing so deeply on the biodiversity of their land, the resulting wines are sometimes wild, always energetic and always seeking the true balance of tannin, acid and fruit.
