Our gnarly old Pinot Noir vines were planted in 1962 from cuttings originating in the Seppelt Arrawatta vineyard and are now considered to be some of the very last Grand Cru pre-phylloxera vines in the world.
Our 2023 Pinot Noir was hand-picked, over two picking dates on the 31st March and the 1st April 2023. The first third of the block was picked into ½ tonne bins, lined with heavy duties bin liners, to which yeast and CO2 was added before being sealed up for ten days to undergo carbonic maceration (fermentation within the whole berry). They were then opened, crushed by foot stalks and all, and completed their ferment as open fermenters with foot treading occurring 3 times daily. At the end of fermentation, the wine was pressed directly into ten year old puncheons for maturation on lees.
The second two thirds of the block was harvested and destemmed into a static stainless steel fermenter to undergo a cold maceration for 2 days and fermentation as whole berries. Fermentation was completed in 9 days, with gentle pump overs occurring twice daily. At the end of the fermentation, the wine was pressed into a stainless steel tanks before being racked to French oak puncheons to undergo malolactic fermentation and barrel maturation.
Our 2023 Pinot Noir was matured in four to ten year old French oak puncheons for 8 months, before blending, fining and clarification occurred prior to bottling in late December 2023.
Our 2023 Pinot Noir displays lifted cherry and raspberry aromas, with hints of spice. The palate is soft and juicy, with earthy, berry fruit flavours that persist to a fine, long tannin finish.