Description
This leading Pipers River producer in Tassie has done well here. Michael Caldwell (viticulturalist/winemaker- with experience at Te Kairanga and Joseph Chromy) overseas the 12 hectare vineyard and employs classical Pinot Noir winemaking techniques: hand sorting fruit, cold soaking, whole bunch inclusion, hand-plunging and wild fermentation; to create wines that combine fruit intensity with layers of texture and persistent varietal characters.
A blend of Pinot Noir parcels from their vineyards at Pipers River, Coal River Valley and grower in the Upper Derwent Valley. Each of these sites is unique with distinctive individual terroirs, building complexity into the final wine blend. Each of the different parcels of fruit from across the vineyard sites were picked on their merit. Fermentation started after 2-3 days with plunging of the cap to extract colour and tannin from the skins. The wine was pressed at completion of fermentation and settled before being placed into French oak barriques, where malolactic fermentation took place, prior to filtration and bottling.
About the 2021 from the winemaker: “A windy spring and mild summer temperatures with patches of rain for the Pipers River region, while Coal River Valley had a dry, mild summer with a long autumn. This resulted in a late vintage that was matched with low yields, producing a wine of dark fruits and spice with fine tannins.
Small batches of Pinot Noir were selected from sites in our own vineyards at Pipers River and Coal River Valley, along with our grower at Swansea. Each site and block has different clones and terroir, adding their own strengths and complexity to the final blend. The cooler northern maritime location at Pipers River produces Pinot Noir that is focused and structured, while the Coal River Valley in the south adds texture and softness to the mid-palate.
Aromas of spiced rhubarb, sweet red cherries, Asian five spice and vanilla mingle with earthy notes and the distinct fruity spice notes of sassafras forest. The palate is seductive with fleshy red and black cherries. It develops with spices from the whole bunch inclusion and French oak barrels.”
Review of 2020: 91+ points, Campbell Mattinson, The Wine Front “Smells good. Smoky and floral at once. The palate is faithful to this tune, adding cherry and boysenberry flavours, dried herb notes in there too. This is a wine that feels fleshy and textural in a soft way. It’s not abbreviated on the finish but the tannin pulls the even flow of it up a fraction. It remains enjoyable. Smoked flowers, that was what I kept smelling and tasting. It’s good all round. Pretty.”
RRP $45 Our Price $35.99
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