Giant Steps Applejack Vineyard Pinot Noir 2022

Accolades:
98/100 – Halliday Wine Companion
97/100 – Campbell Mattinson, The Wine Front
96/100 – Huon Hooke, The Real Review
95/100 – Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate

“On the palate, this is the most concentrated, structured and saline Applejack I can remember, yet you barely notice the tannins due to the core of pure raspberry and cherry fruit. There’s a gentle sappiness on the long, lingering finish. Simply irresistible.” – Philip Rich, Halliday Wine Companion

“There is excellent intensity and volume of flavour, allied with good structure thanks to well shaped tannins, the finish long and the flavour and structure finish right out. Superb pinot noir.” – Huon Hooke, The Real Review

“The Applejack Vineyard Pinot component is planted on east-facing slopes with a mix of clones: Abel, Dijon (114, 115), Pommard, MV6. There was a 15% to 20% whole-bunch component in the final wine. The 2022 Applejack Vineyard Pinot Noir is all about Japanese spice (miso?, good), cherry blossom, red apples, kirsch, star anise and ginger root. This is an elegant, spicy and savory wine with loads of flavor; the tannins are firm and ductile; and the fruit is fleshy and supple.” – Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate

Vintage Note: 2022 was a high quality but low yielding season in the Yarra Valley. A very cool, wet and stormy spring resulted in some challenging conditions around flowering and hence very poor fruit set. The season proceeded to dry out into December, with a dry and warm Christmas period. This exacerbated the already small bunch weights, leading to bunches that weighed up to 40% lower than average. The mild summer meant long, slow ripening and flavour concentration throughout summer, with some well-placed rain in January refreshing the vineyards at just the right time. The strong canopies and low fruit load meant we sailed neatly into picking with very little disease or weather pressure affecting our picking decisions. The grapes from 2022 came off the vine with lovely concentration and flavour with great natural acidity and tannin.

Winemaking Notes: Hand picked, all fruit is chilled overnight to 12 degrees Celsius. Indigenous yeast fermentation. Fermented in small oak fermenters and stainless steel open vats. The MV6 parcels were fermented as whole bunches, while the Pommard, Abel and D clones were destemmed, soaked cold for 5 days, then allowed to warm gently into a wild ferment. All parcels were matured in French oak – 25% new, 75% older – for 8 months in 225L barriques, Taransaud, D&J and Vicard. Racked to blend, no fining, no filtration. Bottled by gravity.

Alcohol: 13.5%

Variety: Pinot Noir

Region: Yarra Valley, Victoria, Australia