When Hilde and Ian (Duke) Ranson sold their clothing manufacturing business in 1998, they were able to fulfil a long-held dream of establishing a vineyard in the Porongurup subregion of Great Southern with the acquisition of a 65ha farm at the foot of the Porongurup Range. They planted shiraz and cabernet sauvignon and riesling. Hilde, a successful artist, designed the beautiful, scalloped, glasswalled cellar door sales area, with its mountain blue cladding. The appointment of Rob Diletti as winemaker will, if it were possible, increase the quality of the wines.

Light-medium yellow and bright in the glass; intense grapefruit, sweet-herb and lemon-balm aromas overlaid by a nutty, peanut brittle trace from oak-maturation. The wine remains delicate, reserved and refined in the mouth, with excellent line and length. Intense, concentrated lemon/citrus fruit. An impressive young chardonnay that will certainly age superbly. A stunner.  Date: Aug 2023; Alcohol: 12.5%; Price: $62.00; Drink: 2023-2034; Rating: 96 Points; Huon Hooke; The Real Review

This is a very fine and elegant style of Chardonnay. It’s certainly tighter than the M2 but it also has power. It’s also a departure for Dukes but not for Cane who has worked with this style before. It’s made from a number of different clones with a chalky minerality taking the palate through to a very long finish. I particularly like the crunchy slightly juicy character which brings life and energy to the palate and complements the lemon curd and brioche flavours. The 10 months in oak, of which 33% was new, is perfectly balanced with the fruit and crisp minerally acidity. Date: June 2023; Price: $60.00; Drink: 2023-2033; Rating: 95 Points; Ray Jordan; WinePilot