2023 ChaLou Pinot Noir, Orange

With 50% whole bunch. Bing cherries, black raspberry and Davidson plum. Thistle and winter pine, rosemary and anise. Compact in black fruit pulp, while acidity chugs along with silky skin tannins. There is olive fleck with black sesame and clove. Lovely middle-palate structure, restraint on oak use and a meaty quality. This shows Orange pinot in its purest form with substance and a good interplay of structural integrity. Drink to 2028.

95 points Shanteh Wale for Halliday Wine Companion, August 2024

Complex aromas of earth, sap, spice, red fruits, briar and dried flowers. Bright, textured, layered and youthful in flavour. There's plenty of cherry, satsuma plum and grippy, shapely tannin at play. Long, sophisticated and age-worthy. Drink to 2034.

92 points Aaron Brasher for The Real Review, July 2024

The ChaLou Pinot Noir from Orange is a beautifully pure and elegant expression of cool-climate winemaking from one of Australia’s rising premium regions. Grown on the slopes of Mount Canobolas in Orange, New South Wales, the fruit benefits from high elevation, volcanic soils and a long, slow ripening season. The result is a wine that balances lifted aromatics, supple texture and mineral freshness with grace and precision.

Winemakers Nadja Wallington and Steve Mobbs, the husband-and-wife team behind ChaLou, have brought a modern edge to traditional craftsmanship. They focus on small-batch wines made with a light touch in the winery and a deep respect for site. Their Pinot Noir is the beating heart of the range — understated yet expressive, fruit-driven but never heavy-handed.

The wine offers vibrant red cherry, raspberry and hints of rose petal on the nose. The palate follows with delicate tannins, juicy red fruits, subtle spice and a clean, savoury finish. It's Pinot with lift, line and clarity — utterly drinkable, yet layered enough to reward a bit of contemplation.

This is the kind of Pinot that sings with dishes like roast duck, beetroot salad, or mushroom and thyme tart. It’s drinking beautifully now but will evolve nicely over the next five years.