June at Monty's Leap

A New Vintage and a Winter Vineyard: June at Monty’s Leap

As the cooler months roll in across the Great Southern, Monty’s Leap is brimming with fresh energy—both in bottle and in the vineyard. From the exciting release of our 2025 Riesling to a full rework of our Cabernet vines, June has been all about transformation, rest, and preparation. Read on to see what’s happening behind the scenes at our cellar door, restaurant, and winery.

Introducing Our 2025 Riesling

We’re thrilled to announce the very first release of Monty’s Leap Riesling—now available from 1 July 2025, both online and at our cellar door.

This 2025 vintage marks a bold new chapter for Monty’s Leap, introducing this classic Germanic variety into our lineup for the first time. It’s a wine born from an exceptional vintage—where winemakers could dial up sugar levels and flavour profiles effortlessly in the vineyard.

From the Winery: Brenden’s “Did You Know”

“This month saw the bottling of all the aromatic whites. The 25 Sauvignon Blanc looks amazing with a flavour profile that’s a carbon copy of the very well-received 2024 vintage. Even at this early stage, the new Riesling looks great.”

“In Australia, we predominantly have two clones of Riesling: Rheingau (often associated with citrus characters like lemon/lime) and Geisenheim (which leans toward barley sugar, violets, and apricot). Both age beautifully, but for a long time, the variety suffered a poor reputation from its overly sweet, mass-produced 60s and 70s past. Thankfully, today’s Rieslings are crisp, refined, and incredibly sophisticated.”

– From the winery team at Monty’s Leap

We love sharing Brenden’s insights—and this month’s facts are a great reminder of the richness behind each bottle.

Charcoal BBQ WA Octopus

A Winter Favourite Returns: WA Octopus

Back on the menu and already a guest favourite, our Charcoal BBQ WA Octopus is now available. It’s perfectly balanced with a housemade sauce, seasonal vegetables, and a glass of red to match.

Find out more here

Winter Vineyard Reworks: Cabernet Gets a Makeover

It’s pruning time in the vineyard, and we’ve been doing a full rework of our Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc vines. The results? Healthier structures, better airflow, and stronger yields for future vintages.

What you’re seeing in the photos:

• The structure of older vines pre-prune

• The newly pruned vine architecture

• A massive pile of removed Cabernet cordons (the permanent horizontal arms of the vine) waiting to be cleared

What’s a “Cordon” Anyway?

A cordon on a grapevine is a permanent horizontal branch trained along a trellis wire. It extends from the main trunk and serves as the base from which fruiting canes or spurs grow each season.

Here’s a simple breakdown:

• Trunk = the main vertical stem of the grapevine

• Cordon = the horizontal arm trained along the wire

• Spurs or canes = short or long shoots that grow from the cordon and produce grapes

The cordon system is part of a vine training method designed to manage grapevine growth, optimise sunlight exposure, and improve grape quality. A common training system using cordons is the cordon spur-pruned system, where each year’s fruiting wood is pruned back to short spurs.

When a vineyard is undergoing a cordon rework, like at Monty’s Leap, it means old cordons are being removed and retrained—often to improve vine health, yield consistency, or grape quality for future vintages.

Blending Pinots: A Quiet Moment in the Lab

Phil and Brenden are deep in the early blending process for our 2025 Pinot Noir, reviewing five different components.

Every sip is carefully considered to create the signature balance you’ve come to love in our wines.