Giant Steps Sexton Vineyard Pinot Noir 2021
$79.90 inc. GST
Accolades:
96/100 – James Suckling
96/100 – Halliday Wine Companion
94/100 – Huon Hooke, The Real Review
93+/100 – Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate
“From the Sexton vineyard in Gruyere, planted on the same grey clay as the Applejack vineyard; 50% whole bunches and 50% destemmed. Matured 11 months in French barriques (20% new). Bottled unfined and unfiltered. A dark, deep crimson. A more robust Yarra Valley pinot with its aromas of dark cherries, black plum and a dried-earth character that makes it quite different to the other Giant Step single-vineyard pinots. Sweetly fruited, concentrated and structured on the palate, what this impressive wine doesn’t have in finesse, it makes up for in power and grunt. This should still be looking good, 10, if not 15, years from now.” – Philip Rich, Halliday Wine Companion
“Sexton Vineyard is planted on shallow gray dirt over mudstone. The elevation is 220 meters and shows the magic of a warmer part of the Yarra in a relatively cool year. Plum skin, chinotto, fig, blueberries and exotic spices form the backdrop to the bright strawberry/cherry fruit. The 2021 Sexton Vineyard Pinot Noir is structurally quite different from the other vineyards, in that the tannins are more grainy and gravelly and provide more framework from which the fruit can hang. It is perhaps more obvious in its display of fruit and tannin, but with that comes a sonorous baritone of tannin and flavor. Impressive.” – Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate
“Complex from the very first moment. Aromas of blueberries, red and dark cherries, sappy and herbal notes, as well as hard brown spices, blackcurrants and violets. The palate has such succulent and energetic style, with red and dark cherries and blueberries sitting in a very complete and layered, fine brand of tannin. The depth and plushness are both impressive. Drink over the next eight years.” – James Suckling
“Very bright, youthful purple colour, medium depth, the nose also very young and a bit callow, with some estery notes, plummy notes too, the palate intense and quite powerful, straightforward and bold with a hint of mid-palate fruit sweetness and a very long carry. It’s not that delicate but is a solid mouthful of pinot, and should reward a little cellar time.” – Huon Hooke, The Real Review
Vintage Note: 2021 was a terrific vintage for both vineyard quality and quantity. We had a wet spring followed by a healthy amount of sunshine and some well-timed rain in January, leading to large green healthy canopies. The overall temperature during the growing season was lower than average which led to a long slow ripening period and great concentration of flavours and natural tannin structure.
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
In stock
