2023 Giant Steps Sexton Vineyard Pinot Noir

Highly Rated
Another great Pinot Noir from the beautiful Sexton Vineyard. Structured and concentrated, but with the signature Giant Steps elegance that we know and love.
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Sale price$100.00
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Description

Halliday Wine Companion's Winery of the Year!
"Giant Steps, right now, breathes rare air. It’s been an outstanding winery for a long time, but the combination of energy and expertise – and no doubt plenty more besides – that winemaker Melanie Chester has brought since she arrived at the winery in November 2021 has frankly been breathtaking... In short, it’s a thrilling range to drink from."
- Campbell Mattinson (Halliday Wine Companion)

The Giant Steps Sexton Vineyard Pinot Noir 2023 is a standout in Giant Steps' daring exploration of Yarra Valley terroir, capturing the essence of the region with remarkable depth. 

Planted in 1997, the Sexton Vineyard sits on the north-facing slopes of the Warramate Ranges. Here, thin topsoil and a rocky clay base naturally limit yields, resulting in fruit that is intensely flavoured and tannin-rich. This setting is perfect for the G5V15 Pinot Noir clone, which thrives in the vineyard's warm, sunny conditions.

The 2023 season was notable for its cool spring and mild growing period, with one of the latest harvests on record. This allowed the grapes to achieve excellent concentration and bright natural acidity. Handpicked and fermented using a mix of whole bunches and destemmed berries, the wine matures for ten months in French oak barriques, a quarter of which are new, adding subtle layers of complexity.

This Pinot Noir is bold and flavourful, with dark cherries and plums leading the charge, complemented by hints of sweet spices and youthful tannins. The palate is quite punchy and structured, with ripe tannins that hint at its potential for aging.

The 2023 Sexton Vineyard Pinot Noir offers a robust and expressive contrast to some of the more delicate offerings from Giant Steps, and is simply a must-try for Pinot lovers.

97 points
"Aromas of kirsch, damson plums, licorice root and spices; this heady, concentrated wine has a lot of meat on the bones, with ripe, persistent tannins boding well for the future. A great contrast to the more delicate Giant Steps wines such as Bastard Hill and Primavera."
- Philip Rich (Halliday Wine Companion)

 

SEASON:

2023 was a small, high-quality vintage in the Yarra Valley. The season was defined by a cool Spring, a mild growing season, cool nights, and medium to high rainfall.
2023 was one of the coolest and latest harvests on record, with our first pick starting two and a half weeks later than the previous average. The grapes in 2023 had lovely fruit concentration with bright natural acidities.


VINIFICATION:

Handpicked, fermented in a combination of small oak fermenters and
stainless-steel open vats.
The MV6 parcels were fermented as whole bunches, while the remaining clones were destemmed to whole berries and cold soaked for four days before fermentation started.
The resulting blend is 21% whole bunch fermented. All parcels were matured in French oak – 25% new, 75% seasoned – for 10 months in 225L barriques predominately Taransaud and Dargaud & Jaeglé.
The wine was not moved and kept in contact with its lees before blending
in December. Bottled by gravity. No fining. No filtration.


THE VINEYARD:

Location: Gruyere

Planted: 1997

Elevation: 130 - 210 metres

Soil Type: Grey clay loam over granite / ironstone.

Aspect: North facing slopes

Size: 30 Hectares

Located on the steep slopes of the Warramate Ranges, the Sexton
Vineyard is in one of the most revered pockets of the Valley. Being well
up the Range’s north-facing slopes, topsoil is thin and root systems have established themselves in shallow gravelly loams above a tough, rocky clay base. Bunch yields set naturally low in this environment, resulting in intensely flavoured fruit with high skin to juice ratio.

The clonal selection of Pinot Noir off this site includes the G5V15 clone, which responds well to the warmer conditions and sunlight exposure to produce juicy and plush wines. The Pinot Noir produced from Sexton have a lovely texture, with dark cherries and plums, sweet spice notes and
youthful tannins.

97 points - "From the Sexton vineyard in Gruyere; 10% whole bunches and matured nine months in French barriques (25% new). A deep ruby. Aromas of kirsch, damson plums, licorice root and spices; this heady, concentrated wine has a lot of meat on the bones, with ripe, persistent tannins boding well for the future. A great contrast to the more delicate Giant Steps wines such as Bastard Hill and Primavera." - Philip Rich (Halliday Wine Companion)

96 points - "The final blend of this wine is around 21% whole bunch fermented. A quiet wine in the glass that needs a bit of time before it reveals itself, be patient as this wine unfurls and gains momentum. It is deeply pigmented in garnet hues and shows black raspberries, cherries and rose petals. Woodsy herbs like rosemary stem, thyme, clove and sesame. Front to middle palate tannins are grainy and astute. There are granite-like immoveable foundations to this wine that will allow it to live a long time. So too is there significant turbidity and viscosity to this wine. Drink now or cellar for 8 years. A perfect wine for blackened skinned cod." - Shanteh Wale (Wine Pilot)

Customer Reviews

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Rated 5.0 out of 5 stars
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1 review
  • MW
    mark w.
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    2 years ago
    Wine Knowledge Level Enthusiast
    2021 Giant Steps Sexton Vineyard Pinot Noir
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    2021 Giant Steps Sexton Vineyard Pinot Noir
    Rated 5 out of 5 stars
    Top Pinot

    One of the best Pinot's going around.

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Giant Steps

Giant Steps is a premium Yarra Valley outfit founded by Phil Sexton and located in the township of Healesville. Beginning with the vision of original head winemaker Steve Flamsteed, Giant Steps developed an international reputation for producing some of Australia's finest examples of single vineyard Pinot Noir & Chardonnay.

In 2021 the exceptionally talented Melanie Chester joined the team as the new head of winemaking and viticulture, marking an exciting new chapter in this elite producer's story.

Every aspect of the Giant Steps process is geared towards making truly world-class wines from the vineyard to the final bottled wine. The focus is on what the Yarra does best - Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, Shiraz/Syrah and Bordeaux-variety blends - and showcasing the unique terroirs of some of the region's finest vineyards.

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