Delamere Estate Pinot Noir 2022

Description

Delamere Vineyards is one of Tasmania’s longest running family owned and operated wine estates, focused on producing distinguished sparkling (Methode Traditionelle) and still wines from the Pinot Noir and Chardonnay varieties. Nestled amongst the cool maritime slopes of Pipers River, in north eastern Tasmania, the vineyard was first established in 1982 placing it amongst the oldest vineyards in the region. With 6.5ha of grapes now established on the property, the age of the vineyard makes it a rare resource in Tasmania, and valuable due to the significant increase in wine quality associated with mature vines. The winery is owned and run by husband and wife vigneron’s Shane Holloway and Fran Austin (formerly of Bay of Fires).

From the winemakers: “Our passion for the region of Tasmania, at similar latitude to the Champagne and Burgundy regions in France, arises from a desire to seek out a genuine cold climate that can produce wines of classic structure, combining fruit intensity with refinement, complexity with persistence of flavour, and the ultimate expression of grape and region. The region of Pipers Brook in the north east of Tasmania enjoys a significant climatic advantage that is unique in Australia, that of a very low variability of maximum temperature. This stability is born from a unique set of geographical features, the hot northerly winds are cooled by the waters of Bass Strait, while the cool southerlies gain heat as they cross the island. This, combined with cool, relative temperatures and significant sunshine hours make for ideal conditions to retain delicate aromas. The frosty and sometimes wild conditions of winter give way to clear, crisp, blue sky days through the growing season, allowing the fruit to ripen slowly and evenly, assuring a lingering acidity essential to producing premium cool climate varietals.

About this vintage from the winemaker: “Spring of 2021, the commencement of the 2022 growing season, was one of the wettest on record for Tasmania. Temperatures were slightly warmer than average but were still the coolest we’d experienced since 2016. So, although the data suggested a warm start, a later than normal budburst suggested potential for a late year to most of us. The new year ushered in a change, with conditions turning dry and warm. Ripening raced ahead with the glossy canopies from the early season rainfall, and fruit flavours developed well. The final wines have full ripe flavours, with zest fresh acidity. Moderate crop levels overall have delivered wine of excellent depth and intensity.

“The Pinot Noir was hand harvested from blocks on the Delamere vineyard aged from 20-40 years old. In 2022, we included roughly 30% whole bunches in most of the Delamere Pinot ferments, with each undergoing fermentation with yeast strain RC212 in open top vessels. The wine was pressed off after two to three weeks and filled to Burgundian oak to mature. The 2022 blend is predominantly from the 2002 planting, with a small amount (8%) of our oldest block, blended in.

“An intriguing fragrant aroma of wild strawberries, cherries, ripe raspberries and violets, with complex notes of earth and lightly charred sweet spice. The palate shows delicate juicy red fruits, framed by firm mouth-coating tannins. The wine travels across the palate with precision and tension. Minerally acidity gives great length to the wine with a lingering impression of violets, toasted spice and chinotto. This is a delicate and ethereal wine, which is tightly wound now, and will unfurl over the next few years to reveal a magnificent example of this elegant and complex variety.”

98 points James Halliday’s Top 100 wines of 2023 “Clones MV6, 114, 115 on 40-year-old vines. 30% whole bunch, open fermented, three-to-five-day cold soak, seven-to-10-day post-ferment maceration, matured for 10 months in French oak (25% new). The power and focus of Delamere’s pinots puts them in the top tier in Australia.”

96 points, Dave Brooks for Halliday’s Australian Wine Companion  “Around 30% whole bunches this year gifting the wine both a distinct sense of space and an array of exotic spice and amaro notes. It’s a wine that feels very composed and comfortable in its own skin, with beautifully defined red and dark cherry fruits, gamey facets and the gentle ache of something umami-like further in the background. A complex wine of grace and poise, it looks great now but those silken tannins gently tugging at the roof of the mouth suggest it will reward careful cellaring over the medium term. Great complex and textural drinking with a scant 300 dozen produced.” December 2023.

RRP $82  Our Special Price $65.99 when you buy 6 or more of this wine