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.
About this wine from the winemaker: “Home is where the heart is and home for us is at Pipers River. Here, the sloping terrain is caressed by the cooling sea breeze, giving fruit the chance to ripen at a leisurely pace over a long growing season. The result is waves of sour cherry flavours dusted with Asian five spice and subtle savoury undercurrent. Complex, elegant, subtle, delicious.”
This single vineyard wine captures the essence of its climate and vintage. In close proximity to the cool waters of Bass Strait, its breeze moderates growth and grape ripening to maximise full maturity of flavours whilst retaining its fine natural acidity. One of the oldest Pinot Noir blocks in our Pipers River vineyard, it is protected from the cool northerly winds by the Dalrymple hill.
The 2021 season in Pipers River was defined by a cool, windy spring followed by a cool to mild summer and long, dry, warm autumn. This extended the length of the growing season by about ten days from average.
The fruit was hand-picked and placed into two fermenters with 30% whole bunches included in the ferment, the balance being destemmed. Fermentation started naturally after three days and was complete after a further five days, with two gentle hand plunges during active fermentation to gently extract tannins. The wine was drained, pressed and settled prior to being placed in French oak barriques (35% new). The wine underwent malolactic fermentation during its 10 months in barrel.
Initial aromas of ripe cherries, black tea and Asian five spice lift from the glass. Over time hints of seaspray, cinnamon and cranberries build into the opulent bouquet. The palate is classical and well defined. Fine, natural acidity and a layer of sweet summer fruit add balance and texture before a long finish with lingering notes of black cherry and cinnamon spice.
Trophy – Best Pinot Noir – 2023 Winewise Championship “The intense dark cherry nose benefits from a subtle touch of stems. The cherry characteristics carry through to a long, silky palate with some dried herb complexity. An impressive pinot with considerable depth of flavour.”
96 points, Huon Hooke, The Real Review “Deep red-purple colour, impressively deep, bright and youthful; deep, rich, ripe black fruits and sarsaparilla dominate the nose, and it’s similarly rich and opulent in the mouth with great depth of sweet fruit, dark-plum and blackberry flavours of fully ripe grapes, the tannins supple and ample. A luxurious pinot, utterly delicious.”
95 points, Dave Brookes, 2024 Halliday Wine Companion “Pinot noir sourced from the Cottage Block on the Dalrymple Pipers River estate. Aromas of ripe plum, red cherry and dried cranberries underscored by hints of fine spice, red licorice, purple floral tones, leaf litter, mushroom broth and game meats. There is an expansive, detailed shape to the wine as it swells with dark and red fruits before a seam of sapid acidity drives the wine to a sustained finish of spicy red fruits and gamey notes.”
RRP $76 Our Special Price $63.99 when you buy 6 or more of this wine
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