"Ridgeline has no on site winery, no staff other than its owners and small production, but what it produces is well worth a taste. Winemaker-owner Mark Haisma learnt much of his winemaking at Yarra Yering under the tutelage of a Valley Master Bailey Carrodus and the income he derives from the winery he throws into Ridgeline.
His (2002) pinot is unfiltered, looks murky and tastes sensational. His (2002) shiraz needs to sleep for a while but when it comes together its flavours will knock your socks off. As Mark throws more income at new French oak, future vintages will also be sensational.
He also has a beautiful (2002) cabernet merlot with rich dark cabernet fruit, spice and (even now) a touch of elegance. Get on his list - you won't be disappointed".
Jeff Gordon, The Melbourne Times.
2004 Ridgeline Shiraz - "a brilliantly spicy shiraz, medium bodied but intense, with earthy, undergrowthy complexity"
Max Allen, The Weekend Australian Magazine
Ridgeline Pinot Noir 2004 - "Tangy. Super tangy. Tight and murky and wild, with flavours of sour cherries, lavender, thyme and boggy earth. This is a wine with a lot going for it. This is brimming with life and the complex, ever-evolving nature of it. Give this wine five years. It could be anything. I love what I’m seeing here. It’s 12.2% alcohol too.
Drink: 2009-2015. 93 points".
Ridgeline Shiraz 2004 - "Certainly at the meatier, spicier, more savoury end of town, and yet still it’s musky and perfumed and satisfying. This is the real deal, full of undergrowth and dark cherry and polished cedar – it’s a bit wild and adventurous, but I can’t see how that is in any way a bad thing. Really good wine. The wine has about 2% viognier in it, and it works beautifully.
Drink: 2009-2015. 93 points".
Campbell Mattinson, The Wine Front
Ridgeline Cabernet Sauvignon Merlot 2004 - "Another from the Ridgeline first release collection that is a gteat expression of its Yarra source and its variety (well ... blend). With Bordeaux elegance and only 13% alcohol, the aromas of boysenberry and mulberry with hints of fresh herbs, oak spice and cigar tobacco combine in fine balance. Hints of polished wood and rich tapestry are yet to develop but it's all there. Fine, ripe tannins give structure and velvet texture and should ensure worthwhile cellaring for a few years".
Ridgeline Shiraz 2004 - "From the heir-apparent winemaker for Yarra Yering come a set of four wines as first releases under the Ridgeline label. A label that shows as little respect for commercial reality as Yarra Yering did when it was first released.
But it's all about what's in the bottle, and this is a fine example of Yarra shiraz. The excellent vintage obvioulsy helped and the fruit shows rich, ripe stewed morello cherry with subtle spices from the oak. The palate is all silk and velvet with the elegance that ripe shiraz from cooler areas can achieve. In flavour an all Australian boy, but structurally hinting at the northern Rhone. From a youngish vineyard (8-9 years) this shows great promise for future vintages".
Cristopher Hayes, Eat and Drink
Ridgeline Pinot Noir 2004 - "A delicious wine, sensibly sealed with taint free Diam and weighing in at the now all too rare and svelte 12.2% alcohol. Unfiltered medium red. Lovely nose, varietal and pure, wilted rose petal and stewed berries and a trace of fresh ginger. Light, brisk and delicate in the mouth, this is a classically shaped pinot. Silky and soft before unzipping to reveal a caress of supple high quality tannins. A wine to refresh and enliven and one that I would have no troubles in recommending.
Excellent.
18/20 (94/100).
Drink now - 2012".
Ridgeline Cabernet Sauvignon Merlot 2004 - "A fleeting display of violets and reduction before showing its true hand. The nose is cool climate and predominantly herbal, bell pepper and menthol. There is a soft and sweet core of fruit balanced with bright acidity, which is followed by a pleasing mid-palate savoury edge. The tannins are meaty and slightly adhesive. There is graphite, malt and a faint soy to conclude. Well handled. Cool climate flavours without a hint hardness or green.
Very good.
17/20 (90/100).
Drink now - 2012".
Ridgeline Shiraz 2004 - "The biggest of the three Ridgeline wines tried this weekend. All three have had grace and finesse, though I suspect this wine will please more with its combination of understated power and richness.
Deep and dark in colour and character. Leads with mulberry and at times a floral lifted edge but underwriting this lightness is a more serious hint of raw meat, earth and bonox. The interplay of rich fruit, creamy softness and the sweet oak flavours is attractive, so too the crescendo of fine, chalky tannins.
Very good.
16.8/20 (89/100).
Drink now - 2012".
Wino-Sapien Wine Blog
Ridgeline Pinot Noir 2005 - "Haisma likes his pinot a little "dirtier", with wild yeasts, lots and lots of stalks and a little maceration time.....you'll see a fleshier but more herbal wine".
Jeni Port, Epicure in The Age
Ridgeline Pinot Noir 2005 - "This is what pinot noir is all about. You will get as much pleasure out of sniffing this as drinking it. It is an absolute cracker loaded with wild, feral and funky characters. There is luscious, sweet soft on the palate and a long finish".
Jeff Collerson, The Saturday Daily Telegraph
His (2002) pinot is unfiltered, looks murky and tastes sensational. His (2002) shiraz needs to sleep for a while but when it comes together its flavours will knock your socks off. As Mark throws more income at new French oak, future vintages will also be sensational.
He also has a beautiful (2002) cabernet merlot with rich dark cabernet fruit, spice and (even now) a touch of elegance. Get on his list - you won't be disappointed".
Jeff Gordon, The Melbourne Times.
2004 Ridgeline Shiraz - "a brilliantly spicy shiraz, medium bodied but intense, with earthy, undergrowthy complexity"
Max Allen, The Weekend Australian Magazine
Ridgeline Pinot Noir 2004 - "Tangy. Super tangy. Tight and murky and wild, with flavours of sour cherries, lavender, thyme and boggy earth. This is a wine with a lot going for it. This is brimming with life and the complex, ever-evolving nature of it. Give this wine five years. It could be anything. I love what I’m seeing here. It’s 12.2% alcohol too.
Drink: 2009-2015. 93 points".
Ridgeline Shiraz 2004 - "Certainly at the meatier, spicier, more savoury end of town, and yet still it’s musky and perfumed and satisfying. This is the real deal, full of undergrowth and dark cherry and polished cedar – it’s a bit wild and adventurous, but I can’t see how that is in any way a bad thing. Really good wine. The wine has about 2% viognier in it, and it works beautifully.
Drink: 2009-2015. 93 points".
Campbell Mattinson, The Wine Front
Ridgeline Cabernet Sauvignon Merlot 2004 - "Another from the Ridgeline first release collection that is a gteat expression of its Yarra source and its variety (well ... blend). With Bordeaux elegance and only 13% alcohol, the aromas of boysenberry and mulberry with hints of fresh herbs, oak spice and cigar tobacco combine in fine balance. Hints of polished wood and rich tapestry are yet to develop but it's all there. Fine, ripe tannins give structure and velvet texture and should ensure worthwhile cellaring for a few years".
Ridgeline Shiraz 2004 - "From the heir-apparent winemaker for Yarra Yering come a set of four wines as first releases under the Ridgeline label. A label that shows as little respect for commercial reality as Yarra Yering did when it was first released.
But it's all about what's in the bottle, and this is a fine example of Yarra shiraz. The excellent vintage obvioulsy helped and the fruit shows rich, ripe stewed morello cherry with subtle spices from the oak. The palate is all silk and velvet with the elegance that ripe shiraz from cooler areas can achieve. In flavour an all Australian boy, but structurally hinting at the northern Rhone. From a youngish vineyard (8-9 years) this shows great promise for future vintages".
Cristopher Hayes, Eat and Drink
Ridgeline Pinot Noir 2004 - "A delicious wine, sensibly sealed with taint free Diam and weighing in at the now all too rare and svelte 12.2% alcohol. Unfiltered medium red. Lovely nose, varietal and pure, wilted rose petal and stewed berries and a trace of fresh ginger. Light, brisk and delicate in the mouth, this is a classically shaped pinot. Silky and soft before unzipping to reveal a caress of supple high quality tannins. A wine to refresh and enliven and one that I would have no troubles in recommending.
Excellent.
18/20 (94/100).
Drink now - 2012".
Ridgeline Cabernet Sauvignon Merlot 2004 - "A fleeting display of violets and reduction before showing its true hand. The nose is cool climate and predominantly herbal, bell pepper and menthol. There is a soft and sweet core of fruit balanced with bright acidity, which is followed by a pleasing mid-palate savoury edge. The tannins are meaty and slightly adhesive. There is graphite, malt and a faint soy to conclude. Well handled. Cool climate flavours without a hint hardness or green.
Very good.
17/20 (90/100).
Drink now - 2012".
Ridgeline Shiraz 2004 - "The biggest of the three Ridgeline wines tried this weekend. All three have had grace and finesse, though I suspect this wine will please more with its combination of understated power and richness.
Deep and dark in colour and character. Leads with mulberry and at times a floral lifted edge but underwriting this lightness is a more serious hint of raw meat, earth and bonox. The interplay of rich fruit, creamy softness and the sweet oak flavours is attractive, so too the crescendo of fine, chalky tannins.
Very good.
16.8/20 (89/100).
Drink now - 2012".
Wino-Sapien Wine Blog
Ridgeline Pinot Noir 2005 - "Haisma likes his pinot a little "dirtier", with wild yeasts, lots and lots of stalks and a little maceration time.....you'll see a fleshier but more herbal wine".
Jeni Port, Epicure in The Age
Ridgeline Pinot Noir 2005 - "This is what pinot noir is all about. You will get as much pleasure out of sniffing this as drinking it. It is an absolute cracker loaded with wild, feral and funky characters. There is luscious, sweet soft on the palate and a long finish".
Jeff Collerson, The Saturday Daily Telegraph