Winemaker Notes
This wine is a deep ruby red with brilliant clarity. The aroma is seductive and highly perfumed, with a seamless balance of red fruits, whole bunch fermentation aromas, and integrated oak. The palate is smooth and well-balanced, with a moreish quality that makes it incredibly drinkable. It exhibits a beautiful interweaving of site and vintage characteristics, with a long, elegant finish.
Professional Ratings
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Decanter
Youthful, vibrant, ripe red fruits, dried herbs and a hint of spice with lifted toast aromas. Round and creamy with a warm, citrusy concentration layered with ripe, juicy dark fruits and balancing freshness.
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.