2017 gifted the Yarra Valley with superb growing conditions, and the resulting wines, like this beauty, have wonderful harmony, balance and depth.Medium garnet colour. Dark plummy fruit with spicy complexity and subtle leaf and graphite. Medium-weight yet plush and focussed with plum, spice and undergrowth complexity, cocoa and subtle mocha depth, subtle secondary characters and spicy length.

A selected blend of cool-climate Pinot Noir from our premium vineyard sites. Whole berry bunch fermented and matures in French oak casks for 9 months, displaying classic yarra Valley fragrance, texture and elegance.

Hand picked fruit from select parcels from our best blocks. The blocks have an easterly aspect that enables them to avoid harsh afternoon sun. Picked early in the morning, hand sorted, destemmed and fermented in small batches. Fermented over two weeks with minimal intervention. Wines were pumped over at the start and end and only some gentle plunging towards the end of ferment. This allows the wines to retain purity of fruit and better reflect the vineyards they were grown in. After 6 months in older French barriques and hogsheads the wine was bottled with minimal sulphites added. The wine has aromas of red fruits, cherries and floral notes. An earthy palate with an undertow of dusty cherries, red berries and pomegranate. Some fine velvety tannins and bright acid make this a savoury and structural wine.

Ruby/Garnet colours. Ripe cherry, strawberry, rhubarb, chinotto, dried herbs, thyme and rosemary flowers. Nice lick of French and fresh leather. Palate very poised, more, strawberry, cranberry, cola/chinotto, dried herbs. Mid palate freshness, excellent balance. Fine tannins and fresh acid line that cleans the wine up perfectly. Excellent length of flavour indicative of the vintage and low tonnages per acre.

Established in 1995, Toolangi Vineyard is in the Yarra Valley adjoining the Toolangi State Forest. This single-site vineyard on fine clay loam produces wines with distinctive personalities, each wine showing a strong sense of place. The vines were cropped low, and the fruit was hand-harvested from 20-year-old vines of MV6 Pinot Noir clone. Fruit for the 2022 Pinot Noir was hand-picked on the 11th of March, The fruit was destemmed as whole berries, with 10% left as whole bunches. There was a short cold soak prior to fermentation and the wine was then left on skins for 21 days. It was then pressed to French barriques and puncheons (less than 10% new) for malolactic conversion and left on lees in oak for 10 months.

Lethbridge Ménage a Noir Pinot Noir is made from a low yielding vineyard in Bannockburn near Geelong in Victoria. The result is distinctly Geelong in character - intense spicy and cherry nose with a silky mid-palate and a strong lingering finish.

This block of D2V5 clone has long proven an integral component of our Estate Pinot Noir blend, consistently contributing a light touch of prettiness, perfume and poise to marry with the routinely more robust elements provided by our MV6 clonal blocks. As an extension of our explorations into the possibilities of future ‘fits’ for our vineyard plantings in the face of the steadily evolving and warming climate, we are also delving into the world of clonal variation in Pinot Noir. Trial and subsequent selection of suitable clones beyond the omnipresent and, so far, unsurpassed Yarra Valley ‘workhorse’ MV6 clone may well throw a lifeline in extending the ongoing viability of this noble variety on the Valley floor. As a first step in this process, we chose to feature the north facing D2V5 clone as a singular wine. This wine walks a tense line between savoury and sweet-fruited characters. It bears a brightness of colour with an intensity of varietal fruit. Aromas of black cherry and char, rose petals and baked clay abound, with darker elements of clove, nutmeg, coffee and damp earth. The palate features flavours of sarsaparilla, Aleppo pepper, and porcini mushroom powder. Miso and cocoa nib surf a subliminal stemmy note. Clonal particularity accentuated by a soft guiding hand in the winemaking delivers a promising steppingstone in a future represent for this clone in our closely entwined Yarra Valley floor climatic and clonal future.