Irrewarra Pinot Noir 2018

Irrewarra is the new winemaking project of Nick Farr (of Geelong legend, By Farr) in the Western District of Victoria, around 150km southwest of Melbourne. The Pinot Noir grapes for this wine are hand-picked from a small single vineyard that was planted in 2001. The fruit is then rigorously sorted, entirely destemmed and cold soaked for four days in an oak open-top fermenter. Fermentation is with indigenous yeasts for 19 days, with gentle pigeage two to three times per day prior to be being gravity fed into French oak barrels (1/3 new and 2/3 2nd and 3rd use) for malolactic conversion and maturation for 18 months.

The 2018 is a wonderful expression of cool-climate Pinot Noir with notes of delicately sweet red berry fruits, dried flowers and wild herbs. With intriguing youthful tension and light tannic structure, this should improve with further cellaring.