PICCADILLY VALLEY - ADELAIDE HILLS

92 points – Gary Walsh, The Wine Front :
“I used to not greatly enjoy tasting Adelaide Hills Pinot Noir. I’m not sure if the wines have got so much better, or I’ve come around to them. Either way, I kind of like them quite a bit these days.
It has a bit of Beaujolais feel to it, for sure. It’s earthy and fungal, in a nice way, red fruit, dried roses, aniseed/mint, with some dusty Fernet Branca spices in tow. Medium-bodied,  juicy, something of a ripe tomato character to acidity and flavour, a little stony, kind of gamey, but in a nice way, a juniper berry tang through squishy red and black fruit, with a soft but amaro-laced finish of solid length. Good drinking here. Quirky and individual.”

The Wine
Since we went organic, no till and dry grown, a grass sward has grown under the vines. The new and welcome competition has forced the vine roots deep into darkness of the soil profile in search of water and nutrients.

In vertical tasting of this wine, we noticed that from our first organically farmed release (2017 onwards) the wines were deeper, darker and generally more flavoursome and livelier. We feel this is a reaction to vine roots being exposed to more of the soil profile and mineral resources. The roots have now made it to the ironstone bedrock 3-5m down. Because behind the broody and dark fruit characters on the nose is an ironstone character, like the airborne smell of wet slate after a rain.
Forest floor and gamy characters lead to a structured, soft, and lengthy palate. Plenty of potential for cellaring up to 8yrs.
Serve at 15-17C.
Released June 2023.
Vegan friendly.
Drink or cellar to 2031.

The Winemaking
Hand-made at CRFT Carey Gully winery.
100% NASAA Certified Organic Piccadilly Valley Pinot Noir, hand-picked in two batches on 7th April. A blend of two clones, D5V12 and 115. Cold soaked followed by wild fermentation in an open-top tank with 25% whole bunch. Pressed to barrel once dry for wild malolactic fermentation and maturation. Occasional battonage. Matured for 9 months in 100% French oak, 30% new oak. Bottled 9^th February 2023. Vegan friendly.

The Arranmore Vineyard
Estate-owned, managed and farmed, the 5-acre Arranmore Vineyard has been farmed organically since Frewin & Candice took ownership in January 2016.

NASAA Certified Organic since February 2019.

Location:      Carey Gully, Kaurna + Peramangk Country (ADL Hills)
Elevation:     550 meters
Aspect:        East facing
Planted:       D5V12 planted in 1994, 115 planted in 2000.
Map:           -34.969564, 138.760102
Soil:          Dark loam topsoil over clay subsoil, with shale and ironstone bedrock.

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