2013 Prince Albert Geelong Pinot Noir $48

2013 Prince Albert Geelong Pinot Noir $48

2013 Prince Albert Geelong Pinot Noir $48

Prince Albert Vineyard occupies 2 ha of arguably one of the best wine grape growing sites in Australia, the north facing slope of the Waurn Ponds Valley, near Geelong, Victoria.  The top soil is 0.5 metres of terra rossa on top of limestone marl. It was first used for a vineyard of the same name from 1857 to 1882, and was re-established by Bruce Hyett in 1975. The vineyard is now owned and the wine made by Dr. David Yates who purchased the vineyard in 2007. Prince Albert vineyard specializes in Pinot Noir. This wine is made from organically grown grapes, hand-picked from the old vines planted in 1975. Picking was on the 15th March, 2013. The grapes were sorted then lightly crushed and fermented in open wax-lined concrete fermenters before malolactic fermentation and maturation in super fine grained French oak barriques for thirteen months. 2013 was an excellent vintage with average rainfall after starting with saturated ground. Temperatures were average with warmer weather in February and March. The resulting wine has a brilliant garnet to ruby colour with aromas of ripe cherries and spice. The palate is a balance of red fruits and spice with good structure. As usual we recommend breathing before drinking. Drinking will be best from 2016 to at least 2021, probably much longer. Enjoy. 14.3% ALC/VOL