2025 Giant Steps Circle of Fifths Pinot Noir, Yarra Valley

The fast-paced 2024 vintage served as a dress rehearsal for the Yarra Valley in 2025, and the team at Giant Steps were ready.The wine opens with expressive, ripe berries—lifted Morello cherry leading into lilac florals, before settling into a grounded thread of liquorice root spice. A portion of whole bunch brings both energy and intrigue, framing what is ultimately a perfumed, pure-fruited style, with oak compliments adding purposeful layers. There’s a generosity at the core—an almost plummy mid-palate that speaks to the hand of Mel Chester—making it immediately appealing, yet the finely woven tannins suggest a wine with a confident future in the cellar. It feels complete, striking harmony across high, mid and bass notes, and capturing the essence of accent points of the single vineyards within the blend. A masterful release of Circle of Fifths. Serve with pork shumai for a pairing that complements its aromatic lift and supple structure.

96 points Shanteh Wale for Wine Pilot, July 2026

A blend of all the single-vineyard wines. 40% whole bunches. A medium, bright crimson red. A beautifully fragrant wine with its aromas of perfectly ripened strawberry, black raspberry, rose, lavender and cinnamon stick. Unfurls on the medium-bodied, textured and mouth-filling palate. The tannins are succulent and you barely notice the whole bunches. A step up on last year's Circle of Fifths and a wine that will still be looking good a decade from now. Drink 2026 to 2036.

96+ points Philip Rich for Halliday Wine Companion, March 2026

Strawberry, black raspberry, rose and lavender on the nose, with cinnamon spice and a gentle whole-bunch lift. The palate is medium-bodied and mouth-filling, with succulent tannins and a textured, harmonious finish.

Expressive and rewarding now, with the balance and structure to develop over the next five to eight years. At home with a duck breast with cherry jus, a mushroom and truffle risotto, or a slow-roasted pork belly with Asian spices on a long weekend afternoon.

More about this wine

Giant Steps was named after John Coltrane's groundbreaking jazz album, and the Circle of Fifths continues that thread. The name taken from the music theory tool that helps musicians understand how scales and chords relate to build harmony. In winemaker Melanie Chester's own words: the single vineyards are the pure tones, while this is the chord.

Blended in equal proportions from all five estate vineyards — Tarraford, Sexton, Primavera, Applejack and Bastard Hill — the Circle of Fifths Pinot Noir brings together voices that each tell a different story of the Yarra Valley. The 2025 season delivered an earlier than average harvest after a warm, dry summer, with low disease pressure and fruit in pristine condition. Twenty percent whole bunch inclusion and the same amount of new French oak. Bottled without fining or filtration.