Country: Australia  Region: Victoria  Vintage: 2021 Category: Red Wine  Color: Red  Varietal: Pinot Noir/Nero Producer: Giant Steps "Giant Steps is a privately owned Yarra Valley producer that has forged a reputation for making some of the Yarra Valley's most consistently exciting wines from estate-owned vineyards. The Giant Steps Single Vineyard wines are produced from their best vineyards in great years. Head winemaker Steve Flamsteed and his team aim is to express in each wine the character of the site, grape and vintage, and this they achieve by meticulous work in the vineyard and minimum intervention in the winery. YARRA VALLEYProducing a range of Giant Steps wines using fruit blended from across the estate has been many years in discussion. These wines were born from a desire to produce a Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Syrah of Giant Steps quality which are expressive of the regional characteristics of the Yarra Valley, rather than a single site. It also provides for Steve an outlet for wine from younger vines, or for barrels that don't quite match the exacting standards set for the single vineyard wines. These wines are made from hand-picked fruit from estate vineyards, and are produced using indigenous yeasts, gravity-flow winemaking and minimal fining and filtration. The approach is working, for the debut Chardonnay from 2015 won a Gold medal at the 2016 Sommelier Wine Awards." Winemaker: Steve Flamsteed Vineyards: Producing a range of Giant Steps wines using fruit blended from across our estate vineyards has been many years in discussion. These wines were born from a desire to produce a Chardonnay and Pinot Noir of Giant Steps quality, which are expressive of the regional characteristics of the Yarra Valley rather than a single site. Fruit for this wine is sourced from the estate vineyards: Tarraford, Sexton, Applejack. Vinification: Vinification took place using indigenous yeasts, gravity-flow winemaking and minimal fining and filtration. This approach produces highly expressive wines, true to the climate, soil and topography of the Yarra Valley. The fruit was 100% hand picked and then cold soaked for three to four days. The wine is then fermented in 4000 litre open oak vats and stainless steel fermenters, 40% was whole-bunch fermented. Rack and return took place by gravity and some light hand plunges were carried out. The wine underwent 100% malolactic conversion and was then matured for eight months in new and used French puncheons, of which 10% were new and 90% older oak. The wine was then bottled without filtration. Tasting Notes: This wine is very much a sum of its parts, with perfumed cherry characters coming from the Sexton Vineyard, Campari notes from Applejack and Tarraford's mocha and cocoa earthiness under pinning it. It has vibrant red and blue fruits but a lovely underlying earthiness, with white mushrooms, truffles, savoury spice and forest floor characters. An elegant wine with breadth, structure and viscosity on the palate. Closure: Stelvin  ABV:13.8%  Acidity [g/l]: 7.08