$63.00
| /
Region: Adelaide Hills
Grapes: Pinot Noir
First Glance: Seductive, Ethereal, Concentrated, Long
Acclaim: 94pts
The Wine:
From the Little Creek vineyard in Norton Summit, planted in 1987 and 1990 to clones MV6, D5V12, Martini and 777. 500m above sea level, and soils consisting of quartz over sandstone.
100% destemmed open top fermentation for two weeks before basket pressing to two neutral French oak barrels for 10 months, then racked to tank for three and bottled.
Little Creek may not be the steepest of the Gentle Folk sites, but the design of the site makes it almost impossible to drive on in the wet. Sadly the 2023 vintage, which was extremely wet and cold, meant that disease pressure was high in the region, and sadly Little Creek bore the most damage from mildew. Only two barrels of wine were made but what barrels they were! Its powerful, its aromatic, and its an absolute pleasure to drink and toast to a challenging year from a special site.
The Review:
Mike Bennie, The Wine Front - 94pts
"Spicy, slurpy, soft and hazy textured number at just shy of medium weight. Dark cherries, a touch of cola, cranberry, dried Italian herbs, a squish of pomegranate juice too. Red berried but with some smoky spice, earthiness and brambly characters. A sweetness builds here, it’s nicely countered by tart, blood orange acidity with a very distinct peppery overlay, a kind of clash, but in the best sense. Almost a brittle tannin profile, lively in its way. It’s good. It’s expressive and character-filled."
