Description
“Wine royalty” is a phrase that often appears alongside the Farr name. It’s a name that elicits great respect and admiration. Decanter Magazine, April 2024
By Farr Wines is a distinguished family-owned winery nestled in the cool-climate Moorabool Valley of Geelong, Victoria. Established in 1994 by Gary and Robyn Farr, the estate has become renowned for producing some of Australia’s finest Pinot Noir and Chardonnay wines.
Gary Farr is one of Australia’s Pinot pioneers and knows more about Pinot than anyone! He began at Bannockburn wines in the 80’s and with his son Nick (combined) they have done 20 vintages at Domaine Dujac in Morey-St-Denis in Burgundy. Their vineyard (planted in 1994) is located at Bannockburn (near Geelong) and planted on volcanic soils over limestone. Their winemaking influence is very Burgundian (natural yeast, whole bunch fermentation and long maceration for the reds) to produce wines that reflect their terroir with pure primary fruit characters and savoury depth, structure and longevity. I regard their Pinots and Chardonnay as up there with the best in land. …Their wines are rated in the Top Ten wines in their categories every year in James Halliday’s Australian Wine Companion.
Today, the winery is led by Gary’s son, Nick Farr, who continues the family’s legacy with a focus on minimal intervention winemaking. This approach allows the grapes to express their full potential, resulting in wines that are true reflections of the land and the season.
By Farr Wines’ commitment to quality and tradition has solidified its reputation as a pre-eminent winery in the Geelong region, producing wines that marry heritage with innovation.
About the Farrside: The Farrside vineyard sits on a northeast-facing slope and consists of limestone topped with black volcanic soil. The vines were planted in 2001 and run east-west to protect the fruit from overexposure to the sun. The clones are a mixture of 114, 115, 777, 667 and MV6. Even though the Farrside and Sangreal vineyards are only 300 metres apart, the darker soils and cooler growing conditions of the Farrside vineyard mean these grapes are picked 10 to 12 days after all others and produce a more masculine and edgy wine.
The fruit is hand-picked and sorted in the vineyard, then fermented in an open-top fermenter. Between 40 to 50 per cent of the fruit will be stemmed and then cold soaked for four days. We use only the natural yeast for the fermentation process, which takes roughly 12 days. Grape-stomping (known as pigeage) will occur two to three times a day depending on the amount of extraction required, and the wine is then placed in 50 to 60 per cent new Allier barrels by gravity. It is racked by gas after secondary fermentation, then again at 18 months to be bottled.
About this 2024 release from the By Farr Team: “I regularly question my relevance in writing these notes, as such frequent exposure numbs the thrill. I expect a level of quality that is outrageously high and over time, you get used to them. I try to sit back and remember what it feels like to try these for the first time. It seems like an odd position, but in the world of Pinot Noir, there is an abundance of light red wines with some pretty smells, some even have nice texture. This is not that type of wine, it is far, far better. I’ve had so many of these amazing wines, my compass only has true north. The needle oscillates a little, but no more than a meander down an equally beautiful path. As I clumsily type this metaphor, I want it to mean that I’ve never had to search for my bearings, the wine is always in the right place.
“The new Farrside is no exception, as it delivers notes of earth, petals, dark ripe fruit and black tea. It smells of spices, dried herbs and lifted notes that remind me of the stems that give this wine such power and life. There is a generosity in evolution to this wine, it is not merely tight and firm, it has softened, it has unfurled, and makes you go back to the glass, time and time again.”
New Release! Review for 2023: 96 points, Campbell Mattinson, The Wine Front “A superb release; svelte, complex, polished and effortless at once. It presents a wild array but it’s so seamless that it’s hard to tell where one nuance ends and another takes up. Nuts, peppers, strawberries and cherries, leaf matter and woodsmoke. It feels like Spring and Autumn in one. Tannin brings spice, mineral, fruit and flowers; the aftertaste remains juicy as it delivers savoury, earthen extras. It’s the detail in the satin that makes this wine feel so exquisite.”
RRP $125 Our Special Price $110 – VERY LIMITED
