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Fruit for this wine was hand sorted twice & produced in two ways; one fermenter of whole berries & another of 100% whole bunches. Blended together. Matured in 300-litre hogsheads (roughly 20% new, François Frères). Ten months on lees before bottling, unfiltered. A graceful & savoury expression of Mornington Pinot Noir. Red plum, spice & dark cherry characters. Fine, supporting tannins. A lingering, perfumed finish of amaro spice.

Good flesh here though; medium-bodied, good weight and sweep of acidity with a crispness to the finish 95, 96 clone Chardonnay from two vineyards, one in Red Hill and one in Tuerong. Barrel ferment, lees stirred. 20% MLF. 15% new French oak. 10 months in the barrel. Sam, Kaspar and Will pick the fruit on the up-curve (i.e. crux of flavour and freshness) bearing in mind the warmer side of the Mornington Peninsula is part of the equation here.

Montalto's 2018 Pennon Hill Pinot Noir has delicious aromas of red currants, blueberry, sour cherry, cranberry and dried strawberry combine with florals, dried herbs, spice, and earthy forest-floor qualities. On the palate, generous juicy red fruits meld with bramble and earth. The warmer 2018 season lent itself to increasing the amount of Montalto-style whole-bunch fermentation; this technique involves loading whole bunches into a 2T open-fermenter and allowing them to undergo 10 to 14 days of carbonic maceration before being destemmed into 2 tonne open fermenters where primary wild fermentation is completed. The result is a significant increase in aromatics and savoury complexity. In 2018, 21% of the blend was made using this technique. The remaining portion of fruit is sorted on the table, destemmed and then allowed to soak on skins until the onset of wild fermentation. Ferment temperatures peaked at 32 degrees Celsius. At the completion of primary fermentation, the grapes were pressed and the wine transferred to French oak barriques and Puncheons (19% new) for natural malo-lactic fermentation. Barrel maturation was for 9 months followed by bottling. Chief winemaker Simon Black and the award-winning winemaking team at Montalto, manage the production of the three ranges in the Montalto stable of wine. Their focus is to create wines of exemplary quality and character, utilising winemaking techniques that complement the unique qualities derived from their vineyards, in a style that reflects each vineyard site. Montaltos three wine labels Pennon Hill, Montalto Estate and the Single Vineyard range are drawn from five different vineyards across the Mornington Peninsula. Montalto winemaker Simon Black explains how the wines relate: To use an analogy, the Single Vineyard wines are like the principal soloists in an orchestra; each is unique in their offering. Years of innovative trial work in the winery has given us the knowledge required to capture the hallmark qualities and personality from these sites. The Estate wines are more like the orchestra, where all the musicians come together to create a multilayered symphony. These wines are crafted from our best parcels of fruit from our vineyards across the Peninsula. The Pennon Hill wines are all about drinkability. They showcase all the qualities that the Mornington Peninsula is best known for perfume, purity, varietal expression and brightness.

Brilliant very pale straw almost water like core with a faint greenish tint to the edges. Delightful pear and red apple scents sail out of the glass followed by hints of dried honey, musk and spice. Delicious pear and red apple fruits have a fleshy yet fresh feel with notions of musk, rosewater, quince and spice lying underneath. Nicely concentrated it finishes dry with crisp acidity and a long refreshing conclusion. Drink over the next 1-2 years. Alc. 13.5%

The wine is cloudy with a rose gold colour. Orange zest & potpourri dominate on the nose and palate. This wine is all about the grip and texture and is the perfect wine to accompany food, especially rich, fatty foods. The wine is initially quite shy in the glass so give it some time to open up.

Highly aromatic, musk, lychee, baked pear, generous and structured.