August 2020 Releases: 2015 Moorilla Muse Pinot Noir $60 & 2018 Stoney Vineyard Pinot Noir $35

2015 Moorilla Muse Pinot Noir $60

Philosophy: Due to the complexity of the Moorilla vineyard and its location we tend to have fruit that lends itself to a heavier and more robust style of Pinot Noir. My aim is to work with this but to also try to bring levity to the finished wine. The 2015 Pinot noir is a fine expression of this, with a medium-red colour (and the faintest tinge of purple), and an elegant, vital tension between deeper, earthy notes (kola, chocolate, dark cherry) and an almost ethereal top end (red summer fruit in particular). Will improve even further with cellaring. By picking over many different days and working with the variability in the vineyard we can make many wines and then work with that natural complexity in the winery to show a balance between fruit and oak derived aromas and flavours. By using stems in some fermentations, we can get great depth of tannin as well. The result is a wine displaying a great deal of complexity, power yet balance and the subtlety I look for. It will benefit from bottle maturation due to that higher percentage of whole bunch and carbonic maceration. Winemaker: Conor van der Reest

2018 Stoney Vineyard Pinot Noir $35

Surprisingly dark to look at (heavy purples, deep pinks—auberginesque), this is a slightly more savoury, intense take on a Tasmanian Pinot Noir. Sour cherry, vanilla and smoked charcuterie lead the nose, with the cherry carrying through to the palate, where things tarten and spice up a little: pepperberry, hawthorn, redcurrant and cranberry all present before some lifted savoury notes (nods to the Coal Valley, but nothing too heavy) and medium tannins round things out. Pair with pate, terrine, and an open pit fire. Make sure there is some cheese around to see out the bottle.