2018 Dexter Pinot Noir, Mornington Peninsula

Tod Dexter grew up with wine. Along with his parents' considerable interest in wine he had a childhood friendship with the Crittendon family, one of Melbourne's premium wine merchants who further introduced him to the world of wine. It was then no surprise that in 1974 after a skiing trip in the US, Tod ended up in the Napa Valley where he spent a seven-year apprenticeship with one of California's premium family wineries, Cakebread Cellars.

Tod moved home to Australia in January 1987, and after an extensive search he and his wife Debbie bought a vineyard site at Merricks North on the Mornington Peninsula. Later that year they planted their first 1.6 hectares of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. Tod then joined forces with Brian Stonier at Stonier Wines where, over the next ten years, he grew the company to become one of Australia's premium producers of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. During this decade the wines Tod created received many accolades both at home and internationally.

During a formative trip to France in 2000 when they visited the most famous Pinot producers in the world, Tod gained a new respect for the concept of terroir and the responsibility to future generations in caring for the land. He also had reinforced to him the importance of attention to detail in both the vineyard and winery. This trip was what encouraged Tod and Debbie to take the next step and produce their own wine. Thus Dexter Wines was born

Vintage Notes: 2018 was warm and dry on the Mornington Peninsula. Ideal weather around flowering and fruit set delivered a large crop throughout the region with very high quality. The absence of disease, combined with perfect ripening conditions provided us with high quality fruit. Harvest date was relatively normal compared with the long term average despite the larger than average crop. In summary the season has produced good flavour ripeness with bright and intense fruit flavours, nice structure and good acid balance.

Winemaking: Hand-picked fruit was destemmed without crushing and elevated into small open fermenters. The must was left un-inoculated for 2-3 days and when fermentation was observed cultured yeast was added. One fermenter was put aside for whole bunch fermentation and this component is 9% of the final blend. Fermentation temperatures peaked at around 32°C and during fermentation the cap was plunged up to 2 times per day. 2-3 days after fermentation was complete, the must was gently pressed and transferred into French Oak bariques and puncheons (25% New, 15% second use 21% third use and 39% older) where MLF occurred before winter. It was bottled late December 2018, 8 months after harvest.

Wine Analysis Alcohol 14.0% pH 3.64 Acid 6.0 g/l Sugar dry

Aromas of dark berry fruits such as blackberry, plums and cherries with background aromas of dried herbs and spices. The wine is similar to the 2016. The complex flavours are of blackberries, plums, spices and hints of oak. It has a soft entry with mid palate fruit sweetness and lovely texture. The finish is long with balanced acid and fine tannins. It should age very well..

The perfumed blossom scents of the bouquet are signals not to be missed because of the light, clear colour. The wine builds progressively as it journeys through the mouth to the lifted finish.