2024 Animale Pinot Noir

WINEMAKER: Dave Mackintosh REGION: Yarra Valley, VIC VARIETY: Pinot Noir VITICULTURE: Organic | As with 2023, the fruit comes from two sites in the Lower Yarra. Some 56% was picked on 28th February from Cahilton Vineyard, which features low-cropping MV6 Pinot on a south-facing slope of light brown duplex clay loams in the Gruyere subregion. The balance was grown on Yarra Station Vineyard and picked on 8th March from a later-ripening, low-lying, flatter section of ironstone-rich, grey clay loams in the Yarra Glen subregion. | The Cahilton Pinot Noir was destemmed and fermented for about 12 days with a light pumpover every day. A week later, the Yarra Station Vineyard fruit fermented as whole berries for roughly 14 days with a few light pumpovers during peak ferment, followed by plunging through to dryness. The parcels were pressed separately and settled for a few days before racking to old hogsheads and barriques for natural malolactic conversion. After a month, the barrels were kept outside to cool down in the Yarra winter and mature without sulphur. Five months later, the barrels had a small sulphur addition to aid settling. In early September, the wine was racked lightly to tank to prepare it for bottling without fining or filtration. | This is pretty and open from first sniff—a whirl of pink flowers, sweet spices, cherry and alpine strawberry. Immediately juicy and pliant on the palate, it has lovely bounce and flow, carried off with vibrant acids and a silky ease that calls you straight back to the glass.