Impressive offerings from the Gippsland region

Patrick Sullivan is one of Australia’s most thoughtful winemakers and has often been aligned with the natural wine movement in Australia, a label he feels doesn’t get to the heart of his philosophy. Patrick studied viticulture in school, rather than oenology. The point was always to focus on the fruit. “Minimal intervention is in the eye of the beholder,” he says. “What I try and do is be as honest as I can to the vineyard… So that’s maximum intervention in the vineyard. Pruning, leaf thinning, being out in the vineyard all the time…

Patrick Sullivan is the ‘been everywhere, done everything' man, planting vines at age 15 and heading to London 3 years later. Viticulture studies followed, coupled with working at Vino di Anna, a winery in Sicily, thereafter appointed international wine buyer for Vino di Anna's owner, a London-based wine distribution business. Back in Australia, he became increasingly interested in Gippsland and the Baw Baw Shire in particular; winemaker Bill Downie was his guide both there and thereafter in the Yarra Valley. His beliefs and practices took shape over this time, notably sustainability/biodynamics and ultra-close spacing of 7000 vines/ha. In '14 he and wife Megan purchased the 69ha property now called Tumblestone Farm, sitting on red volcanic soil over sandstone at the base of the Strzelecki Ranges. They live on the farm with their 2 young children and have planted pinot noir and chardonnay. In the meantime he works with chardonnay from the Millstream, Bullswamp and Ada River vineyards. -JAMES HALLIDAY

What I’m trying to do is be as reflective of the site as possible at that time and at that place.”Out of school, Patrick worked with the iconic viticulturist Stuart Proud at Thousand Candles in the Yarra Valley, who instilled in Patrick his fastidious approach toward the vineyard. At Thousand Candles, Patrick met Bill Downie, who had at that point already become one of the most prominent winemakers in Australia. When a property near Bill’s place opened up in 2016, Patrick and his wife Megan jumped on the opportunity, and the three of them (along with Bill’s accomplished cheesemaker wife Rachel) have been sharing resources and building the bounty of their land ever since.

The land itself is stunning: little rivers and creeks carve their way over the Strzelecki ranges of basalt, sandstone, and volcanic soils. Bill and Patrick are out in their vineyards everyday. The goal is always to express something unique about the land, and increasingly Patrick’s vessel for expression is solely chardonnay, a grape which transmits its place with precision and complexity. The only thing ever added is a small amount of sulfur. Yes,” he says, “what I do fits the bill of what people say is natural. But really all I want to do is make really good wine.