2024 Brokenwood Indigo Pinot Noir, Beechworth

Fermented with 30% whole bunches and matured in French oak barriques and puncheons. A beautiful, ethereal wine, fragrant and bursting with warm strawberries and vanilla sugar. There's a sophisticated overlay of crushed sage, flecks of pimento and pink peppercorn. The palate flows like silk, with purity of expression and remarkable clarity. It's svelte and delicate, with immense flavour and length. The acidity is ultra-fine, the tannins even finer.

96 points Toni Paterson MW winecompanion.com.au

Brokenwood Indigo Pinot Noir is a quietly confident expression of Beechworth Pinot, shaped by elevation, granite soils and a cooler alpine influence that gives the wine both fragrance and structure. The Indigo Vineyard sits high in north east Victoria, where warm days are tempered by cool nights, allowing Pinot Noir to ripen slowly and retain natural acidity and fine detail.

Brokenwood is best known for its Hunter Valley wines, but its Beechworth project shows a deep respect for site and variety. The Indigo Vineyard has long been recognised as one of the region’s standout sites, and the approach here is deliberately restrained. Careful picking, gentle extraction and sensitive oak handling allow the vineyard to speak clearly without excess weight or gloss.

In the glass, the wine is refined and expressive. Red cherry, raspberry and wild strawberry lead, followed by rose petal, subtle spice and a gentle savoury note. There is a fine mineral thread running through the wine, a nod to Beechworth’s granite soils. The palate is medium bodied and precise, with bright acidity, fine grained tannins and a long, clean finish that feels poised and elegant.

This is a Pinot Noir that shines at the table. Roast duck, chicken, pork, mushroom dishes or lighter game all work beautifully. It is approachable when young for its clarity and freshness, yet it also rewards short to medium term cellaring, gaining savoury complexity and texture with time.

Brokenwood Indigo Pinot Noir is a reminder that Beechworth can produce Pinot Noir of real finesse and character, combining cool climate freshness with depth and regional identity.