Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Wine Spectator
Clones 114 and 115 planted '94, believed to have mutated into a single 'Sangreal' clone. Always made with 50-70% whole bunches, and 60-70% new oak maturation for 18 months. Typical bright, deep hue; the bouquet exudes flowers (roses, violets), spices and a throbbing heartbeat of gently savoury dark fruits; the palate magically twists all these characters into a single silver-coated stream of red and blue fruits, the tannins no more than background haze, oak a slender frame. A gorgeous pinot of the highest category.
Thin-skinned, finicky and temperamental, Pinot Noir is also one of the most rewarding grapes to grow and remains a labor of love for some of the greatest vignerons in Burgundy. Fairly adaptable but highly reflective of the environment in which it is grown, Pinot Noir prefers a cool climate and requires low yields to achieve high quality. Outside of France, outstanding examples come from in Oregon, California and throughout specific locations in wine-producing world. Somm Secret—André Tchelistcheff, California’s most influential post-Prohibition winemaker decidedly stayed away from the grape, claiming “God made Cabernet. The Devil made Pinot Noir.”
Comprised mainly of boutique, family-owned and operated wineries, Geelong is one of the cool coastal wine-growing regions of the Port Phillip Zone of Victoria. Here the elevation and proximity to sea breezes—similar to Yarra Valley, Mornington Peninsula and the southern part of Gippsland—allow the region to produce remarkably vivid Chardonnay Pinot Noir. The elegant Shiraz wines from Geelong also attract attention.