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.
There is no difference in the actual handling of a By Farr and a Farr Rising wine. Same techniques are used on each variety. The only differences are percentage of new oak and whole bunch which is determined by vintage and flavour profile of the site.
The Farr Rising pinot vineyard was planted in 2001 using a large mixture of rootstocks, but only three clones—MV6, 114 and 115. It is a very exposed and hungry north-facing slope, consisting of grey sandy loam mixed with an ironstone pebble (buckshot) at the top. This leads into black volcanic soil over limestone at the bottom of the vineyard.
The fruit is hand harvested, and then sorted in the vineyard. The fruit is fermented in an open-top fermenter, and an average 60 to 70 per cent of it is destemmed. The wine is placed in 20 to 30 per cent new Allier barrels by gravity. It is racked by gas after secondary fermentation, then again at 18 months to be bottled. Over time, the site has shown that it can certainly stand up to its bigger brothers.
The wine typically shows a soft perfumed nose, which begins to build. The palate has sweetness, followed by mineral overtones enhanced by toasty oak, and firm flavours with a long and savoury finish. This is a gem of a wine, with ageing potential of five to eight years from most vintages.
About the 2023 vintage: ” After three solid years of rain the team had hoped for some different growing conditions. Unfortunately not, a cool and wet Spring in 2022 meant that there was server disease pressure and constant canopy management required up until Christmas. Because of the two previous growing seasons the team was well aware of what was required and did an amazing job once again. Crop levels certainly seemed below average because of the cool and windy conditions, particularly in the chardonnay sites. With frequent rain events throughout January and early February the ripen period was making little progress until we finally saw extended days into weeks of dryer and warmer weather. The welcome relief started to show us signs of delicate, super fine flavours, driven by high acidities.
“Our first day of picking was set for the 16th March, we decided to hedge our bets and pick a little Chardonnay from the Cooper block and a couple of ton of Pinot from the Windmill block. With acidity still quite high and looking for balance of flavours we decided to not pick again until the 20th March. We harvested our last fruit in Bannockburn on the 6th April, and Irrewarra fruit on the 14th April. All in all we are excited about the fruit that we grew and the wines they are becoming yet it is the smallest vintage since 2002.”
About this wine from the winemaker: “In my opinion, I often wonder when the concept of “Farr Rising” will be considered “risen” …. Ripe, generous, and round in the mouth. This offers weight and intensity you rarely see from this grape. Spice, dark spice, not herbal at all and black ripe fruits all on full show. It’s a powerhouse and entirely seductive, in a way that only Pinot Noir can be. A part of that ability to entice and deliver at the same time, comes down to balance. This is a big Pinot Noir, but it’s still perfumed and has freshness that doesn’t’ Nick Farr
RRP $68 Our Special Price $61.99 – VERY LIMITED
