2022 Giant Steps Sexton Vineyard Pinot Noir 750ml

Region: Yarra Valley, Victoria

• Vintage Notes

  2022 was a high quality but low yielding season in the Yarra Valley. A very cool, wet and stormy spring resulted in some challenging conditions around flowering and hence very poor fruit set. The season proceeded to dry out into December, with a dry and warm Christmas period. This exacerbated the already small bunch weights, leading to bunches that weighed up to 40% lower than average. The mild summer meant long, slow ripening and flavour concentration throughout summer, with some well-placed rain in January refreshing the vineyards at just the right time. The strong canopies and low fruit load meant we sailed neatly into picking with very little disease or weather pressure affecting our picking decisions. The grapes from 2022 came off the vine with lovely concentration and flavour with great natural acidity and tannin.

• Vineyard Notes

  Location: Gruyere Planted: 1997 Elevation: 130 - 210 metres Soil Type: Grey clay loam over granite / ironstone. Aspect: North facing slopes Size: 30 Hectares Located on the steep slopes of the Warramate Ranges, the Sexton Vineyard is in one of the most revered pockets of the Valley. Being well up the Range’s north-facing slopes, topsoil is thin and root systems have established themselves in shallow gravelly loams above a tough, rocky clay base. Bunch yields set naturally low in this environment, resulting in intensely flavoured fruit with high skin to juice ratio. The clonal selection of Pinot Noir off this site includes the G5V15 clone, which responds well to the warmer conditions and sunlight exposure to produce juicy and plush wines. The Pinot Noir produced from Sexton have a lovely texture, with dark cherries and plums, sweet spice notes and youthful tannins.

• Winemaking

  Hand-picked, all fruit is chilled overnight to 12 degrees Celsius. The grapes were 100% destemmed, soaked cold for five days, then allowed to warm gently into a wild ferment. All parcels were matured in French oak â€?25% new, 75% older â€?for 10 months in 225L barriques, Taranasaud, Vicard and Dargaud & Jaeglé. Racked to blend, no fining, no filtration. Bottled by gravity.