With its intensively planted vineyards, this winery does things differently
Curvaceous but contained, its upfront fleshiness tightened and coiled through the palate, this is chardonnay at its seductive best.
There are some in viticulture who say that dense vineyards are for those whose mental acuity could be similarly labelled. Then there are those who say that vines under pressure grow diamonds. Martin Spedding is of the latter mind. His vineyards may be dense, but he is anything but.
Spedding turned his back on a Big Tech career to pursue his winemaking dream. In 2003 he bought an operation in the Mornington Peninsula’s elevated Main Ridge. It was a promising brand built on three exceptional vineyards owned by three families who created a label that took its name from the time it took to travel between them. Spedding quickly took Ten Minutes By Tractor from promising newcomer to significant player. Over years he added several outstanding sites to create a portfolio of vineyards that not only added different aspects and elevations but, in several cases, planting densities as well.
While traditional vineyards in Australia have been designed around the machinery that works them, meaning rows 2.5m to 3.5m wide and vines planted to 1.5m spacings, Spedding has planted two sites at densities more akin to places like Burgundy. One, planted on red volcanic soils and bearing the family name, is the source of two of the most exciting wines he has made. It has 18,500 pinot noir vines packed into just under 1.5ha, with 1.1m between rows and vines spaced at .75m, and a chardonnay block of 1.72ha with 10,400 vines planted with a luxurious 2m between rows. Advocates for high-density planting say the increased competition encourages roots to push deeper, rather than spreading shallow and wide, producing smaller bunches with more intense and energetic fruit. Martin Spedding has delivered compelling evidence to say that it works. With nary a tractor in sight.
TEN MINUTES BY TRACTOR ‘TRAHERE’ CHARDONNAY 2022
$110
A poised, assured wine of subtle power. Beeswax, creamed honey, dry white flowers, nutty nougat, a soft, saline minerality. Curvaceous but contained, its upfront fleshiness tightened and coiled through the palate. This is chardonnay at its seductive best.
12.5% alcohol; 97 points
TEN MINUTES BY TRACTOR ‘TRAHERE’ PINOT NOIR 2022
$130
A wine remarkable for its decadence and its detail. Lashings of red cherry, raspberry and blackberry ride on rolling waves of exotic spice. The palate is built on rippling muscle but never looks cumbersome; there’s a complex layering of flavour, revealing more with every return to the glass.
13% alcohol; 96 points
TEN MINUTES BY TRACTOR ‘ESTATE’ CHARDONNAY 2022
$56
Sourced from across the vineyard portfolio, this wine gives a broad overview of Mornington Peninsula chardonnay through a wide lens. White florals and nectarines, some raw nuts and the palest shortbread. Fleshy and generous but never overbearing; a wine of carefully revealed dimensions and lovely, mineral-laced acidity.
12.5% alcohol; 94 points