2021 Kooyong Haven Pinot Noir, Mornington Peninsula

Notes of undergrowth and red fruits, cherries, bay leaves, and dry herbs. Seamless with ever-so-soft and silky tannins. Serious length here and a glorious palate, never-ending and maintaining the intensity at every stage. Top shelf!

96 points Ken Gargett winepilot.com

This single-block wine is sourced from 0.75 ha of 25-year-old vines within, as the name suggests, the most sheltered of our vineyard sites. The lack of exposure to strong winds allows the vines to keep a rich green canopy until comparatively late in the ripening period and the resulting Haven wines always possess fruit in the more purplish spectrum, with a certain richness and lushness yet a firm underlying tannic structure. The vineyard (6.88 ha in total) comprises seven different parcels, with the same two parcels historically being selected for this wine. The ferment, with a portion of whole bunches, occurred spontaneously with ambient yeasts and took place in large-format wooden and concrete tanks and lasted 17 days. Following fermentation, the wine was pressed and racked into French oak barriques and puncheons (20% of which were new) and underwent indigenous malolactic fermentation. The wine was racked only once, with the total maturation period lasting 14 months. It was then bottled without fining or filtration.

Attractive aromas of red florals, red cherry and berries, and subtle spice characters. The medium-bodied palate of elegant red and purple fruit and floral flavours builds towards a long, fresh finish full of energy, and complemented by a line of tight, chalky tannins. This wine will reward time in the cellar.

13%