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

2014 is the inaugural release of Colleens Paddock Pinot Noir. It features a restrained, brooding and beguiling nose with hints of cranberry, sour cherry, wild raspberry, earth, stalks and charry oak. The aristocratic palate weaves an uncommon melange of toffee fruits, herbal flavours and savoury elements through fine, integrated tannins and delivers an elegant, luscious, velvety mouth feel. It combines lightness with richness and density with great length and persistence of flavour.

Expect layers of fleshy Pinot fruit, suggesting rose petal, plum and earth, balanced by fine, powdery tannins and a long complex finish that perfumes the mouth with sour cherries and sappy freshness. The Pauls Lane Pinot was hand harvested from Toolangi's 2001 plantings (MV6 clone grapes in E Block rows 46-66), partially de-stemmed (50% whole bunches retained) and naturally fermented in open top wooden fermenters. In total, the wine spent 23 days on skins before being pressed to French oak (20% new) for eight months. Bottled unfined and unfiltered. "A producer that demonstrates a deep commitment to terroir in producing Australias finest and most distinctive wines." Nick Stock, Good Wine Guide In case you hadnt heard the good news, Helmut Konecsny, the owner of Rochford Wines, has purchased Toolangi Vineyards and has immediately started ringing in the changes. Of course, its early days, but from what we have seen so far, the future for Toolangi now looks very, very bright. Apart from the new packaging, Konecsny and his team seem very serious about rejuvenating and upgrading the work in the vines. This was, after all, one of the few Yarra producers to engage the services of renowned soil scientist Claude Bourguignon on his recent visit to Australia, and the Toolangi vineyard was one of the sites he analysed. In terms of winemaking, Toolangi will now control its own destiny with the talented duo of Kaspar Hermann and Kelly Healey working closely with seasoned Yarra viticulturist John Evans. Hermans CV includes stints at Seville Estate, Viticoltori De Concillis in Campania, Coldstream Hills, Punch (formally Diamond Valley) and Mount Mary where he worked as assistant winemaker for 8 years before joining Toolangi. Kelly Healey started his wine career in Otago in his homeland of New Zealand before donning the Blundsones at Chandon in the Yarra Valley and Moet & Chandon in India, followed by a spell at Kilchurn in Macedon until he accepted the role working alongside Kaspar. Crucial to the Toolangi team is experienced viticulturist, John Evans. Johns previous experience includes Chief Viticulturist at Yering Station for 14 years, Vineyard Manager at Yarra Ridge and worked at De Bortoli, as well as various Vineyard Consulting roles including the setup and redevelopment of Toolangi Vineyard in 2001, which he has continued to this day. Safe to say, John knows the Yarra like the back of his hand and exactly how to get the best from the Toolangi vineyard. Another positive is that there are currently only two tiers of winethe Toolangi and Pauls Lane labels. The first set of wines under the new team hail from 2018. Under the new regime, there is no inoculation for any of the wines, the Pinots take in a large portion of whole bunch ferments, and the reds are neither fined nor filtered. The winemakers also take a balanced approach to new oak, so even the top label is capped at 20% new barrels. Its very early days, yet the first set of wines makes a statementan excellent statement. Going forward it will be fascinating to see the consequences of Konecsnys and the new teams intention to apply the time honoured vigneron model on the Toolangi wines. The future is bright.

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.

Medium weight with subtle power of black fruit and cherry, rhubarb and rose petal lift.

Wild Folk - the natural choice in wine - are pure expressions of the variety and the vineyard. Minimal intervention in the winery ensures a joyful glass of just what mother nature intended. Wild yeast fermented, no additions, vegan friendly, preservative free, unfined and unfiltered, nothing but fermented grapes at their finest. Fragrant, fresh and lifted and full of poised Pinot Noir Character. This is smooth, silky and seductive on the nose and palate- exhibiting distinctive cherry and savoury notes followed by gentle acidity on the finish. Perfect drink now style that would pair well with mushroom risotto.