Pinot Noir 2023

Bannockburn Pinot Noir is made from a blend of estate fruit grown on our established vineyards; the oldest vines planted in 1976 through to the more recent 2007 planting. This release includes fruit grown across Olive Tree Hill (1976), 10 Rows (1991), Stuart Block (1997), Anns Block (2004) & De La Terre (2007) vineyards. The clonal mix includes MV6, 114, 115 and 777, with various vine spacings and planting densities.

Handpicked parcels of fruit were wild fermented separately with approximately 20% whole bunch overall including a portion of carbonic maceration. After pressing the wine was racked to a combination of hogsheads and puncheons of which 20% was new oak. The wine was left undisturbed for 10 months prior to blending and bottling.

The 2023 Pinot Noir offers a very lifted and pretty aromas of fresh bright red fruits, as well as macerated fruit, spice, and seductive autumnal characters. The flavours are also vibrant, energetic and pure with vivid red and spiced fruits, moderate tannin and a refreshing finish. The mouthfeel is elegant and complex whilst retaining freshness and enjoyment.

96 points. The nose is lifted and perfumed, with notes of dark cherries, cassia bark, potpourri and sweet spices. The palate is medium-bodied with seamless tannins and precise acidity, giving notes of red currants, forest floor, graphite and orange rind. 25% whole cluster. Exceptional. Drink or hold. Screw cap. Ryan Montgomery, jamessuckling.com.

95 points. This is excellent. Fine, tight, intricate, wild and precise at once. Not exactly sure how they do that but here it is, they have. Cherries, meat, soy, strawberries, twiggy spice, some volatility, a fine web of tannin, some beet characters, some undergrowth. So much going on within an overall impression of control. Mightily impressed. Campbell Mattinson, winefront.com.au.