Winemaking

Bunches are carefully sorted upon arrival at the winery on a sorting table then conveyed to a ‘state of the art’ incline destemmer. The whole berries are gently conveyed directly to open fermenters with a minimal addition of SO2. A natural ferment starts usually within 4 days. Hand plunging commences from the start until draining/pressing. Usually between 10-14 days from harvest, the wine is drained, the skins pressed gently and combined with the free run wine which is settled for a week or so before racking to barrel using gravity. Malo lactic occurs naturally in barrel and once complete the wine gets 60 ppm SO2. Our Estate Pinot is a selection of barrels from our Leongatha vineyard of which 17% were new this year. All barrels are lightly toasted and extra tight grain oak. Barrels are topped and checked weekly. Wine stays in barrel for 12 months, then it simply gravity decanted off lees via a spigot inserted at the bottom of the barrel to a blending tank. No fining of any sort, or filtration before bottling in July 2023. A natural deposit may become present over time in the bottle.

Vintage 2022

A challenging vintage with high early disease pressure. Weather conditions were wet and cool during spring/ early summer affecting flowering and fruit set, resulting in a 50% decrease in Yields, but then warmed up a bit through summer and autumn. Total rainfall of 428 mm over the growing period and a warm summer kept vines in good health. We started handpicking Pinot Noir from the Leongatha vineyard on the 7th March, finishing on the 8th April as ripening was staggered. Ripeness ranged from 13.2 -14.2 Baume, with good acid/ pH balance. Yields were a very low 2 tonne / hectare but quality was very high.

Tasting Notes

Fragrant potpourri of aromas, rose petals and red berry notes, with a hint of China tea; the very essence of Pinot Noir. A classic iron fist in a velvet glove palate. A lush fruit driven middle, enveloped by powdery tannins with delicious flavours that dance delicately across the palate.