YARRA BURN Pinot Noir-Chardonnay-Pinot Meunier, Yarra Valley

De Bortoli are one of Australia's true champions of Pinot Noir, and this delicious example from their La Bohème range is incredible value for money.Pale red in appearance. Cherry, spice, leaf litter and cedar aromas. Medium weight with a plush mix of red cherry and blood plum, lovely structure and silken tannin drive, and earthy umami notes of the persistent finish.

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.

Animale is a collaboration between Arfion and Imbibo wines. Arfion simply means “Our Wine” in Scottish Gaelic. Originally from New Zealand, Winemaker Dave Mackintosh established Arfion with his father Brian and brother Jimmy in 2011. The time was right to build a small independent wine business, where they could be hands on, free to take some risks, and make wines that they truly love. Dave has been obsessed with making wine since ’98 and respects numerous styles. This has driven Arfion to mix things up to create classic, single site, single variety expressions as well as multi-vineyard blends and lo-fi offerings. Sourcing grapes from highly skilled, sustainable growers from across the Yarra, we take care in making sure the site and variety are in harmony throughout the season. Low impact winemaking adds layers of flavour and texture. The Pinot noir is a blend of vineyards from the Upper and Lower Yarra Valley, as well as a blend of juicy carbonic fruit and more restrained destemmed ferments. It is a pure Yarra, Pinot expression showing cherry and red berry flavours followed by a detailed savoury finish.

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.