I got to know David Lloyd when he was living on his beautiful Eldridge Estate in Red Hill, a few kilometres up the road from where I live on the Mornington Peninsula. A fellow journalist on a trade magazine I’d been freelancing for suggested I contact him because I was scouting around for some vineyard experience. David was a good bloke, excellent winemaker and could do with a hand, he said.
This all turned out to be true. The reason David could do with a hand, I discovered, was that his wife, Wendy, was in the advanced stages of a cancer that went on to kill her. He—they both, actually—welcomed me warmly, although I’m not sure I was a tremendous help.
In this conversation, we talk at length about the quarter-century he spent as custodian of Eldridge Estate. Nat and Rosalie White, founders of Main Ridge Estate, were among David’s closest friends right the way through, and to this day, so it’s no surprise they feature prominently here. Lindsay McCall of Paringa Estate in Red Hill is also mentioned. The book I quote from is The Essence of Dreams by Andrew Caillard MW, which gives a detailed history of this Victorian wine-growing region. You can read more about Stephen Hickinbotham there. Hugely respected and fondly remembered, this winemaker was hugely influential in the peninsula’s early days and died in an air crash in the mid-’80s.
The peninsula talk includes some technical stuff—unsurprising given David’s scientific leanings. The bacteria that brought them here are responsible for malolactic conversion (aka malolactic fermentation, malo or MLF). This is the process, common to pretty much all red wines and some (usually textural) whites, rosés and sparklings, where the harsher malic acid is softened and rounded out as it is converted to lactic acid. The process can occur naturally and lowers the wine’s overall acidity. That wasn’t it for microorganisms; we talked about yeasts, and Petaluma founder Brian Croser’s (now of Tapanappa) name popped up.
We also talk about clones. It’s important to say that we’re not talking about some Frankenstein-like modification. Clones are just variations within a grape variety that have come about through genetic mutation. As an ancient variety with large, scattered areas planted—and with growers who have captured, selected and propagated certain mutations—Pinot Noir has a lot of them, and they have very slightly different characteristics. These will affect how the vine adapts to its surroundings and how that shows up in the wine. It’s interesting, but not something to get hung up on. But you can watch this nerdy little video on MV6, the signature clone of the Mornington Peninsula. Oh, and the Pinot clone David mentions in Santa Rita Hills, California—Musigny is one of Burgundy’s top grand-cru vineyards for reds, and Domaine Comte Georges de Vogüé is a great grower.
The Coonawarra crew are Doug Bowen, whose wife Joy passed away last year, and Brian "Prof" Lynn of Majella Wines. Peter Gago and his wife, Gail, also feature. Peter is chief winemaker at Penfolds and, therefore, the man behind Grange, Australia's most famous wine. I've never met him and have only witnessed a highly stylised version of him at a distance through the lens of the super-slick Penfolds PR machine. I was fascinated to hear more about him from an intimate friend. The Gamay section includes a nod to Barry Morey of Sorrenberg.
Lastly, we talk about David’s friend Michael Twelftree of Two Hands in the Barossa, with whom David collaborates for the Odd Couple wines. I drank the Coal River rendition with my wife that night; it was delicious. (For more on that region, and Pinot Noir in general, listen to Steve Flamsteed, consultant to modern-era Eldridge Estate, on episode 11.)
Share this post