Michael Downer

The Climb

Since 2012, Michael Downer has held the roles of Chief Winemaker and winemaker & owner at Murdoch Hill, shaping the estate with a steady hand. The work has been incremental rather than abrupt: a slow tightening of style, a firmer sense of identity, and a consistent respect for what the Adelaide Hills can give. That kind of development reads as house style by accumulation. Across the years, Downer has built Murdoch Hill around balance — precision without severity, generosity without excess, and wines that keep the site visible even as the shape of the regional expression becomes more defined.

Today

The Murdoch Hill range now sits at the centre of his work, with scope that reaches beyond the estate while staying inside the same disciplined frame. Downer put that extension plainly: “We created the Artisan Series to source fruit from outside our vineyard.” The core range has also been reworked under his hand, with the focus kept on clarity and approachability. “Slowly, over the next five years, I took the reins of the core Murdoch Hill range and have evolved them to be more of a house style, a regional expression, and, I guess, more approachable in style.” The point is not display; it is definition. The wines are set up to read as Murdoch Hill, and to read as Adelaide Hills.

Signature

Michael's signature wines include The Ridley Pinot x Three, Artisan Series 'Tilbury' Chardonnay, Rocket Chardonnay, 2022 Tilbury, and 21 Landau Syrah. Taken together, they sketch the contours of his style: precise yet inviting, regional yet expressive, and unmistakably shaped by the Adelaide Hills.

In Their Words “Slowly, over the next five years, I took the reins of the core Murdoch Hill range and have evolved them to be more of a house style, a regional expression, and, I guess, more approachable in style.” “My philosophy has always been to be true to the Adelaide Hills : I want to keep the regionality in my wines.”