The team at Oakridge are going from strength to strength these days and they are taking the Over The Shoulder range with them. Dry maraschino cherry and gently gamey yet clean mouthful of delicious Pinot! Really great finishing length for this sort of price!

Giant Steps is a complex Pinot Noir with terrific varietal character. The nose shows rose petal, dark cherry and tomato leaf aromas and the palate is fleshy but tight, with savoury, dusty notes and silky tannins.

This 20ha vineyard was planted on red clay loam soil at Woori Yallock in 2001 by Lou Primavera, with whom Giant Steps has a long-standing grape-supply relationship. Pinot Noir (114, MV6 and G8V3 clones) grown here on the north and north east facing slopes at 230m is noted for its complex structure and pronounced perfume. The 114 and MV6 are fermented as whole bunches in open vats, while the G8V3 is destemmed, given a long cold-soak and fermented separately to enhance its aromatic contribution. All ferments use indigenous yeasts and the whole-bunch components are periodically foot-stomped to release additional juice. The wines are pressed to 228 litre, French barriques (about 8% new) for 11 months before blending and bottling without fining or filtration.

Produced from one of the Top 100 Wineries in the World the Giant Steps Pinot Noir is complex with terrific varietal character. With a minimalist approach to winemaking this Yarra Valley favourite oozes elegance and drinkability. Giant Steps is an independent winery in Healesville, Victoria, owned by Phil Sexton. Phil first made his name in establishing some noted micro-breweries, such as Little Creatures, and later established Devils Lair in Margaret River. First released in 2001, Giant Steps focuses exclusively on the distinctive expression of single vineyard sites in the Yarra Valley. Grapes are drawn from estate and leased vineyards, as well as a selection of long-term contracted vineyards. Giant Steps wines are produced fastidiously in the vineyard and vinified with minimal intervention so that each is a faithful expression of site, vintage and culture. Giant Steps focuses on restrained Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and cool climate Cabernet/Merlot blends. These single vineyard wines are sourced from five different vineyards throughout the Yarra, so each is a fingerprint of location and site personality. The name Giant Steps comes in part from Phils love for jazz and John Coltranes album of that same name, and in part due the Giant Step Phil took in relocating with his family from Margaret River to the Yarra Valley. Giant Steps wines are always exclusively single vineyard Yarra Valley wines. They are hand made in small batches using gravity flow principles. Production of the Giant Steps wines is very limited with some vineyards producing as little as 200 cases each vintage some wines are not produced each year if vintage conditions do not allow. These wines are often hard to find in retail outlets as they are mainly sold through the cellar door and through selected restaurants.

A beautifully perfumed example of the classic medium-bodied Yarra Valley style from an exciting new entrant to the local scene, made by the highly experienced Paul Bridgeman. Medium garnet. Open and expressive aromas of mulled strawberry, forest floor and clove. Plush and polished palate, delivering a riot of red berry perfume, and velvet umami throughout, enhanced by damp earth, mushroom and stalk and charry barrel harmony.

Bright crimson in colour with a garnet hue, Lifted fruit aromatics of crushed strawberry , raspberry and pomegranate, with a floral perfume note and hints of green

This is a very affordable Pinot from the highly regarded Tarrawarra winery with fruit sourced from the estate and the hills of southern NSW. A well made Pinot with good fruit depth and varietal flavour.

Sourced from a number of Yarra Valley vineyards, fermented in small batches with different treatments (carbonic maceration, partial whole-bunch and whole berry fermentations utilising optical sorting). 67% of the fruit comes from the valley floor and 33% from the Upper Yarra. The final blend equates to 15% whole bunches and 6% new oak, with the residual balance matured in French oak puncheons and barriques from 2nd to 4th fill. The wine saw four months on lees in barrel prior to bottling.

Crafted from three premium Yarra Valley sites, combining both MV6 and D2V4 (pommard) Pinot Noir clones. The first parcel was hand-picked on the 20th of February, with the final parcel coming in on the 1st of April. All batches were fermented wild utilising different ratios of whole-bunches, the final blend equating to 25%. Matured in French oak puncheons (30% new), where it saw 10 months élevage prior to bottling.

The nose displays aromas of raspberry and herbs with an attractive earthiness. The palate shows red berries, pomegranate and some lovely forest floor characters. A fine tannin profile and bright natural acid lift provide great depth and structure to the plate. The beautiful acidity suggests this.