2024 CRFT Arranmore Pinot Noir, Adelaide Hills

There's quite a bit of richness to this wine but it tucks it all in neatly and tidily. Dark, stewed cherries meet tang of cranberry with dusty spice, earthy herbal notes and some truffle/mushroom characters, too. There are lots of layers to the wine, a lip-smacking satisfaction in its generosity. That being said, even, balanced, fine tuned. A sense of pedigree. Drink 2025 to 2033.

95 points Mike Bennie for Halliday Wine Companion, Special Value, June 2025

CRFT Wines is the project of partners Candice Helbig and Frewin Ries, two winemakers who between them have worked vintages across Australia, New Zealand, France and the United States. Frewin developed a particular love for single-vineyard Pinot Noir during stints at Cloudy Bay in Marlborough and at renowned Sonoma producer Williams Selyem, while Candice trained in oenology and honed her craft at major South Australian wineries before turning her focus entirely to CRFT. Founded in 2012, CRFT is built around a simple philosophy: let the vineyard do the talking and get out of its way.

Arranmore is a certified organic five-acre vineyard in Carey Gully, in the heart of the Adelaide Hills. The combination of altitude, a southeast-facing slope and a constant cool air drain from the Mount Lofty Ranges means Arranmore can sit seven to ten degrees below nearby Adelaide. The soil profile runs from dark loam topsoil down through clay subsoil to shale and ironstone bedrock, and the vines are dry-grown with a no-till approach. Pinot Noir has been grown on the property since 1994, and the estate now works with two complementary clones: the original D5V12 planted in 1994, and the Dijon 115 clone added in 2000.

This Pinot was made with a light hand and minimal intervention. Hand-picked fruit was  cold-soaked before wild fermentation in open-top tanks with around 25% whole bunch inclusion, then pressed to predominantly seasoned French oak for wild fermentation and around nine months of maturation.

The result is a Pinot Noir with real presence and a distinctly savoury edge. The nose is fragrant and earthy — think red cherry, raspberry and a whisper of forest floor, lifted by floral top notes and the cool mineral quality that the ironstone bedrock seems to leave in every wine from this block. On the palate it's medium-bodied with silky tannins, bright natural acidity and a finish that lingers with spice and a touch of dark fruit depth.

For anyone seeking a genuinely site-specific Australian Pinot Noir from a small producer doing ‘everything’ right this is a compelling choice. Drinks beautifully on release but has the structure to reward a few years in the cellar. The wine is vegan friendly.

Pour it alongside duck breast with cherry jus, a mushroom and lentil ragù, or anything with earthy, umami-rich character.