2020 Rouleur Pinot Noir, Healesville Yarra Valley

The 2020 vintage Pinot Noir hails from two vineyards, situated on the upper-north side of the Yarra Valley floor near the township of Healesville.

The first Rouleur vineyard picked is also our warmest Yarra Valley site. The School Lane vineyard is close planted, northerly facing and quite open at 100m above sea level. We take clone MV6 from here and this fruit makes up 35% of our blend. Displaying a darker, more brooding profile we opted to ferment this parcel using 100% whole bunches.The second vineyard is nestled in the foothills above Healesville. The Valley Farm Vineyard is more elevated at 140m, cooler and protected from the elements due to surrounding trees and undulating hills. We take clone MV6 from this prettier, more red-fruited site than the earlier ripening (1-2 weeks) School Lane vineyard.

At the winery, fruit from both vineyards was individually hand sorted and processed. The 100% whole bunch parcel from School Lane was foot stomped and inoculated for fermentation, whilst the Valley Farm fruit was cold soaked and fermented using wild yeast and 15% whole bunches. Each parcel was fermented to dryness over 2-3 weeks and pressed after a short maceration period. We then racked to new (12%) and old oak for MLF and after 8 months maturation, our Pinot Noir was blended and bottled without fining and only light filtration.

Our 2020 vintage Pinot Noir offers punchy morello cherry, campari orange and bramble-like spice aromas. The palate follows suit with juicy cherries, whole bunch spice, bright acidity and dusty fine tannins. Alc Vol 13.4%, PH 3.53, TA 5.8

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