Pinot Noir

Delicate garnet in colour, this Pinot Noir shows red cherry and raspberry aromatics, with layers of sweet spices and red fruits. The palate reveals further dark cherry and kirsch flavours. Pure Pinot Noir characters are supported by complex cinnamon and nutmeg spice flavours. Oak is seamlessly woven into the wine, with hints of char and subtle vanillin building on the spice profile in the fruit. Fine, supple tannins support the delicate acidity giving the wine great length of flavour. Our Pinot Noir is an expression of Yarra Valley Pinot Noir in a cooler year, with delicate and pure flavours, length of palate and finesse.

Tasting notes:

The 2013 Nautilus Pinot Noir is dark ruby in colour. The nose reveals fragrant aromas of violets, dark plums and spices. The palate is medium bodied with good structure. Refined and balanced, this elegant wine shows good intensity and a lengthy finish.

Vintage:

A cool spring but warm, dry summer made for ideal conditions during the 2013 growing season. The harvest started at a normal time but became quite rushed towards the end as a lot of fruit ripened at the same time. This meant it was all hands to the pumps & presses as we worked hard to capture the ideal varietal flavour profiles and the end result was a tired team but great quality wine across the board. This wine is a carefully selected blend from two premium hillside vineyard sites, in the Southern Valleys sub region.

Winemaking:

To make this wine, fruit from Pinot Noir clones 114, 115, 5, 667, 777 and Abel was hand harvested and de-stemmed without crushing to allow a portion of whole berries in the ferment. A small amount of whole bunch fruit was also included in some ferments. The grapes were fermented with indigenous yeast in open top fermenters after a 6-8 day ‘cold soak’. Careful cap management, using our pneumatic punch down device, has resulted in extraction of only the soft ripe tannins. After pressing the wine was racked directly to a mixture of new and older French oak Barriques, where it remained undisturbed until filtration and bottling in March 2014.

Cellaring:

The primary fruit components showing in the wines youth will further develop and integrate over the next five years as the wine matures.

Food match:

Beautiful accompanied by Venison with Star Anise