2022 Pizzini Il Barone, King Valley Beechworth

Dark ruby red colour. Blackberry, dark cherry, beef stock and dusty red earth aromas. Dark fruit fills the core of the palate, but the savoury meaty and dusty earth notes are the primary focus here. As it carries the line an additional herbal element adds further interest. Medium in weight with supple tannins have power with a gentle touch as it rolls long to a dry finish 25 OCT 2023 Drink 2023–2031

93 points SK therealreview.com

Selected from our finest sites, our Il Barone weaves the distinctive characteristics of four varieties into a perfectly balanced symphony of flavour. The flavour comes to life firstly through the blackcurrant notes of Cabernet, then through the herbaceous Sangiovese, and then the Nebbiolo deftly completes the palate with complex star anise aspects, melding perfectly with the fleshy fruit of the Shiraz. Suited to aging up to 15 years.

Each variety is fermented separately, aged for up to 12 months in a selection of French oak barrels, then once blended the wine is for a further 6-12 in bottle months prior to release.
Sangiovese was inoculated with yeast BM45. The ferment temperatures reached and were maintained at 30°C. Once the wine finished alcoholic fermentation the free run wine was drained and the skins then lightly pressed. The wine was allowed to settle for a day before it was transferred to barrels for malic acid fermentation and barrel aging.
Cabernet Sauvignon was harvested in the heat of the day so fermentation could start immediately. The grapes were crushed, de-stemmed and inoculated with yeast. Ferment temperatures were allowed to reach 30°C to help with extraction of colour, flavour and tannins. After fermentation the skins stayed in contact with the wine for 10 days to help soften and round the tannins and improve texture.
Shiraz was fermented immediately after crushing and de-stemming. The grapes were inoculated with a yeast strain isolated from the Rhone Valley; the yeast specifically enhances the varietal characteristics of Shiraz - cassis, pepper and violets. The grapes were then pressed before fermentation finished and the wine was transferred to barrel to complete alcoholic and malolactic fermentation.
Nebbiolo, after crushing and de-stemming, was fermented immediately, then inoculated with a yeast strain from Barolo (a region famous for producing Nebbiolo). Fermentation lasted for about four days then the wine was lightly pressed and allowed to finish fermentation in oak barrels where polymerising helps to soften and round the tannins. The wine then went through malolactic fermentation in barrel followed by a minimum of twelve months aging in barrel.