$199.99
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Region: Yarra Valley
Grapes: Pinot Noir
First Glance: Earthy, Gravely, Juicy
The Wine:
Hand picked, all fruit is chilled overnight to 12 degrees Celsius. Fermented in small oak fermenters and stainless steel open vats. The Pommard parcels were fermented as whole bunches, while the remaining clones were destemmed to whole berries and cold soaked for five days. The resulting blend is almost 20% whole bunch. All parcels were matured in French oak 20% new, 80% older – for ten months in 225L barriques, Taransaud and Dargaud & Jaeglé. Racked to blend, no fining, no filtration. Bottled by gravity.
Applejack Vineyard is a special site, located on a dramatic slope in the upper Yarra Valley. The basalt based underlying volcanic soil and rock produce a characteristically fine yet extended, spicy and firm palate. The higher altitude results in a cooler and extended growing season, ideally suited to Pinot Noir and Chardonnay (3-4 weeks later than central Yarra Valley). This vineyard is a special location for Pinot Noir in the Yarra Valley – its eastern aspect means the sun rises to warm and dry out the vineyard in the morning, but the vines are sheltered from the afternoon heat from the temperate rainforest that surrounds it. The earthen, gravely flavours combined with juicy, fine tannins, intense flavour and texture on the palate shows us the quality of the site for world class Pinot Noir.
The Review:
Campbell Mattinson, The Wine Front - 97pts
"The key to this being one of the great pinot sites in Australia: east facing slope on grey soils. There’s a 100 metres of drop from the top of the vineyard to the bottom, which is pretty amazing. There’s also significant clonal diversity in this vineyard. It was planted in 1997.
What a wine this is. It’s a bloom of fruit, it’s wild with herbs, there are sweet-sour nuances and there’s a controlled run to the finish. Winemaker Mel Chester says: ‘everything you love about pinot noir, is in this wine.’ A reductive savouriness, particularly noticeable on the finish, is the icing. This is a stunning wine. Stunning fruit, and stunning structure, and stunning length."
