January 2021 Releases: Giant Steps 2017 Sexton Vineyard Pinot Noir $70 & Rouleur 2019 Yarra Valley Pinot Noir $29

Giant Steps 2017 Sexton Vineyard Pinot Noir $70

This wine has now had 2 years in bottle and is drinking superbly well. The palate is loaded with red & black cherry fruit, dark chocolate and meatiness. It has had time to develop some secondary savoury characters, including some forest floor, mushroom aromas, and some complex fruit, spice and umami flavours on the palate. This will appeal to people who like full flavoured Pinot Noirs. THE VINEYARD: Location: Gruyere Planted: 1997 Elevation: 130 - 210 meters Soil Type: Grey clay loam over granite / ironstone. Aspect: North facing slopes Size: 75 acres Located on the steep north facing slopes of the Warramate Ranges, the Sexton Vineyard is exposed and demanding. Being on the higher slopes, topsoil is thin and root systems have established themselves in shallow gravelly loams above a tough rocky clay base. Bunch yields set naturally low in this environment, resulting in intensely flavoured fruit with high skin to juice ratio. SEASON: 2017 was a textbook cool climate vintage. The preceding winter was cool to cold (good vine dormancy) with good rainfall and ground saturation as the valley moved into spring. The growing season was characterized by intermittent rainfall with otherwise cool to mild days, bright sunshine and importantly, no temperature peaks. As a result, all varieties enjoyed slower ripening where acids, sugar and flavor stayed well in-sync. The resulting wines have terrific structure and detail, underpinned by crisp natural acidity and bright fruit. VINIFICATION: Hand-picked without additions. 25% (115 clone) was transferred as whole bunches to small oak and stainless steel open vats. The remainder (MV6 and Pommard clone) was destemmed and transferred as whole berries to the fermenters. Fermentations were indigenous and left alone with little cap work, relying upon carbonic maceration for extraction. Pressed at dryness to new and used 228L tight grain French barriques for 10 months – 25% new, 75% older. Bottled by gravity with no fining or filtration Appellation: Yarra Valley Varietals: 100% Pinot Noir Clones: 115, MV6, Pommard (Clone 5) Harvested: March 2017 Bottled: January 2018 Alc/Vol (%): 13.5 TA (g/L): 6.1 pH: 3.54 Cellaring: Two - ten years Cases: 550

 Rouleur 2019 Yarra Valley Pinot Noir $29

Rouleur winemaker Matt East explains how he became a winemaker. Growing up in the Yarra Valley, son of a grape grower, I guess you could say I had little choice about a career in the wine industry. My Dad, once Marlborough Man, and TAA airline pilot turned farmer, planted a vineyard to Pinot Noir on the Coldstream family property in1984 and set me on course toward a life in wine.  I worked vintages in local wineries as a junior and tinkered with my own wine in the shed using an old crusher-destemmer, basket press and pick bins as fermenters. My work in the vineyard continued, studying along the way and eventually tracking a path in wine sales and marketing.  Not long after returning from a stint overseas, life delivered my family a considerable blow. Dad was diagnosed with cancer and passed away within 12 short months. Before he died, we had a conversation about my life and future. Dad urged me to pursue my dreams in wine and I promised that somehow, sometime, I would make wine from the vineyard we planted over 30 years ago.   In 2015 I left the security of my full-time job in McLaren Vale to focus on turning my own dreams into reality. With the help of family, friends and friendly locals, I launched the Rouleur Wine Co. and fulfilled my promise to Dad with the release of our 2015 Yarra Valley, Pinot Noir. Our 2019 vintage Pinot Noir hails from two vineyards, situated on the upper-north side of the Yarra Valley floor near the township of Healesville. The first Rouleur vineyard picked is also our warmest Yarra Valley site. The School Lane vineyard is close planted, northerly facing and quite open at 100m above sea level. We take clone MV6 from here and this fruit makes up 35% of our blend. Displaying a darker, more brooding profile we opted to ferment this parcel using 100% whole bunches. The second vineyard is nestled in the foothills above Healesville. The Valley Farm Vineyard is more elevated at 140m, cooler and protected from the elements due to surrounding trees and undulating hills. We take clone MV6 from this prettier, more red-fruited site than the earlier ripening (1-2 weeks) School Lane vineyard. At the winery, fruit from both vineyards was individually hand sorted and processed. The 100% whole bunch parcel from School Lane was foot stomped and inoculated for fermentation, whilst the Valley Farm fruit was cold soaked and fermented using wild yeast and 15% whole bunches. Each parcel was fermented to dryness over 2-3 weeks and pressed after a short maceration period. We then racked to new (12%) and old oak for MLF and after 8 months maturation, our Pinot Noir was blended and bottled without fining and only light filtration. Our 2019 vintage Pinot Noir offers punchy morello cherry, campari orange and bramble-like spice aromas. The palate follows suit with juicy cherries, whole bunch spice, bright acidity and dusty fine tannins.   Alc Vol 13.4%, PH 3.53, TA 5.8