Our Estate wines are crafted from 100% estate grown fruit and are made on site in our winery. These elegant cool-climate varietal-focused wines are a reflection of our unique vineyard, surrounded by native flora and laden with deep mineral-rich red volcanic soils. Each release embodies the notion of terroir, painting a picture of our secluded corner of the Upper Yarra Valley with a stamp in time.
The Estate Pinot Noir is handpicked with initial bunch selection carried out in the vineyard. The fruit is chilled overnight before being sorted and destemmed the following day. A blend of 100% de-stemmed ferments and 100% whole bunch ferments are used, adding complexity.
The must undergoes a four-day cold maceration before the onset of spontaneous fermentation occurs. The small open top fermenters are gently plunged or pumped over daily. Once fermented, the wine is pressed off skins before being barrelled down to combination of French oak hogsheads and puncheons (comprising 30% new). Following 10 months of barrel maturation the wine is racked to tank and bottled without fining or filtration.
Aromas are lifted, delicate and pretty, stamped with a classic ‘Upper Yarra’ badge; red cherries, muddled raspberries, clementine peel and rosehip. There’s depth and darkness too – brooding blood plum, cocoa nib, cincona bark and undergrowth.
Crunchy red cherry and tart cranberry-like acidity gives vibrancy on the palate. Judicious use of whole bunches and well-integrated oak contribute to a complex roasted spice profile. Supple tannins build across the palate and the wine finishes long and framing, supported by a moreish plum pit savoury freshness.
Vibrant and alluring. Perfumed yet poised.
Drink 2026 – 2036.
97 points, Halliday Wine Companion
“All estate fruit including percentage of the original 1972-planted clonal material. 70/30% whole berries/bunches; matured in 30% new hogsheads and puncheons. A bright crimson red. A great nose with its aromas of wild strawberry, rose petals, a little freshly turned earth and some five-spice. Layered, finely tuned and beautifully composed on the palate. Velvety and persistent tannins mean you can enjoy this now and over the next decade and beyond. Super-duper.”
Philip Rich
The 2023 vintage, was one of the coolest and wettest vintages on record, marked by low yields and producing fine-framed, elegant and aromatically intense wines.
La Nina delivered high rainfall throughout Spring and into December however, the New Year brought with it blue skies, drier conditions and mild Summer temperatures allowing steady flavour development and retention of natural acidity and freshness. Cool and windy conditions during flowering and low bud fruitfulness from the year before combined to bring light bunches and low yields.
