Seppelt is a historic Victorian house founded in 1851, best known for Great Western but drawing its cool-climate table wines from the Drumborg Vineyard, planted in 1964 in the Henty region of far south-west Victoria - one of Australia's coolest, and one of the southern-most mainland vineyards. Maritime, wind-exposed and slow to ripen, Drumborg's limestone-influenced soils give Pinot Noir intense colour, fine perfume and vibrant natural acidity. The 2020 season brought cool winters with rainfall, two early-October frosts, cool flowering with good fruit set, late-December heat and wind, then predominantly cool, drizzly conditions; yields were consistent and quality good, producing a refined, spicy, structured wine. Seppelt is now part of Treasury Wine Estates.

A proportion of whole bunches was included in fermentation, adding the spice, structure and savoury tannin noted, alongside destemmed berries for red- and blue-fruit generosity. After fermentation and full malolactic conversion, the wine was matured for around 8 to 9 months in French oak - 225-litre barriques and 500-litre puncheons, about 32% new and 68% seasoned - giving a nudge of oak and fine texture without dominating the fruit. The result is intense yet delicate and refined, with raspberry, red and dark cherry, rhubarb and spice over savoury tannins, bottled here in 375ml as a winery museum release. Critics rated it highly (James Halliday 97 points).