2019 Lethbridge Mietta Pinot Noir Biodynamic, Geelong

From a 'fast and furious' vintage comes a lively, spice-laden, brightly fruited pinot upbeat in red berries, wild raspberry, exotic spice and a sappy, undergrowth complexity. And that's just the bouquet. Svelte and even, fine in tannins with a most sustained finish with spice and anise in action.

95 points Jeni Port winecompanion.com.au

“Goes in for 80% whole bunch and 100% new oak, from a vineyard planted in 1996. Cherry and raspberry, a lot of spice and perfume, kind of blue with new oak (if you take my meaning) though the fruit is pretty much up to the task, along with earth and a sort of boot polish on leather thing happening. It’s rich and bold, a little creamy, with dark cherry, raspberry liqueur, spice, porcini mushroom savouriness, and sooty/grainy tannin, plus a finish of good length and intensity, with a subtle sappy bitterness to close. It’s a bold wine, no doubt, that speaks well of Geelong, and I reckon it will be better again with a few more years in bottle.” 

94 points, Gary Walsh, The Wine Front

“This is a richly flavored, mid-weighted pinot. A rewarding textural patina of maritime salinity, dutiful freshness and sinuous, nimble tannins flecked with whole-bunch (80%) traits of briar and clove, corralling black cherry, bergamot, rhubarb and a whiff of something salacious. Succulent. This is delicious, with nothing pushed. A mellifluous, long flowing whole. I'd like to see this in eight years. Screw cap.” 

95 points, Ned Goodwin MW, jamessuckling.com

Mietta Pinot Noir, named after one of Maree Collis and Ray Nadeson’s daughters, is Lethbridge’s flagship Pinot Noir, sourced entirely from the property’s original Pinot Noir block. Otherwise known as the ‘Top Block’ and located on the eastern part of the property, these were the first vines to go into the ground when the replanting began in the mid-‘90s. “It’s a block planted by PhDs”, quips Ray, referencing the assistance from friends and colleagues when they were starting out. The low-yielding block is planted entirely to the MV6 clone on black clay, basalt and limestone soils.

2019 was a year that required Ray to hold his nerve when it came to picking. After a quick, hot start prompted many to get all their fruit off in a hurry, Ray waited before the weather settled and cooled, allowing the fruit to reset to a long, slow and even ripening pattern. The fruit was picked by hand and fermented spontaneously in open-top vessels with 80% whole bunches. The wine matured for 11 months in new wood and three years in bottle before release. The notes below speak for themselves.