“Ours is a bloody-minded obsession to achieve perfection.’’

So says Paul Bridgeman, winemaker at Levantine Hill Estate in the Yarra Valley. And anyone lucky enough to sip his 2015 Katherine’s paddock chardonnay or 2014 pinot noir will know he’s at the top of his game.

Chef Teage Ezard manages the Signature Restaurant at this high-hitting winery just beyond Coldstream, and while not yet reaching the heights of Bridgeman’s handcrafted wines, Ezard at Levantine Hill is making its mark in the valley with thoughtful, well executed dishes conveying a real sense of place.

In early Spring, Eildon trout was conjured from under a glass dome swirling with smoke; jamon Iberico, purple congo potatoes and garden herbs (grown on the estate) sprouted from an ovoid ceramic; and dessert, a melange of chocolate, plum, hazelnut and purslane, dazzled on an iceberg white plinth.

Ezard’s theatrical presentation is bound to divide opinion. So is the estate’s stark arching steel and glass restaurant building, which could do with softening landscape work.

We have no reservations about Signature Restaurant service which is fluid, relaxed and informed, and that Ezard will continue to rise to the challenge of matching those critically acclaimed wines.

Must eat dish: Smoked Eildon trout, apple, cucumber
Instagram: @levantinehill