2017 Timo Mayer Granite Pinot Noir

Timo Mayer is pushing winemaking to the edge in his mission to ‘bring back the funk’ to Australian wine.

A self-proclaimed German farmer with a warm smile and eccentric mind, Timo left the traditional wine region where he was born and raised for Australia’s Yarra Valley. Over the past couple of decades he’s helped lead the charge for elegant, interesting, complex wines that reflect the Yarra Valley’s cool climate, influencing a generation of young winemakers. These days he’s still pushing boundaries, experimenting with new varieties and throwing convention to the wind.

Timo and Rhonda planted a vineyard on a slope, which they named Bloody Hill (it was no easy feat working on such a steep hillside). His wines were Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, cool-climate classics that allowed Timo to showcase his unique style. His winemaking philosophy: ‘bring back the funk’. This was interesting, complex, funky stuff – the antithesis to the previous wave of wines. 

In 2004, Timo made a decision that changed everything. He starting using whole bunch fermentation in his Pinot Noir wines. This is a rustic, old-school technique where the grape stems are left in with the berries to ferment, adding a unique flavour and texture to the wine – and at that time, hardly anyone in Australia was doing it. Never one to do things half-heartedly, Timo went all in and made 100% whole-bunch Pinot Noir. Some were sceptical and others excited by the complexity and freshness of his new style of wine. Timo played a major part in bringing this technique back and today it’s used by winemakers all over the country, helping to shatter the world’s perceptions of Australian wine. 

Timo hasn’t lost his drive for breaking down barriers. He made a name for himself making elegant, innovative Pinot Noir and Chardonnay but in recent years he’s started experimenting with new varieties, including Nebbiolo and Gamay – two red grapes that have an exciting future in the Yarra Valley. And as ever, he’s doing it his own way, pushing the boundaries and bringing the funk. 

Ullage 20 mm from cork.