Mount Macleod Pinot Noir 2023
2023 brought a cooler, wetter spring, continuing the La Niña influence that had dominated the previous two seasons. Frequent rainfall and high humidity through November and early December made for a relentless challenge with downy mildew, with secondary powdery outbreaks requiring careful management into the new year. January remained mild, and without any significant heat spikes, disease pressure persisted longer than usual. A welcome run of dry, breezy days in mid-February finally turned the tide, though yields were already impacted from the battle. A typical South Gippsland La Nina tussle.
March brought intermittent showers, and ripening was slow but steady. Chardonnay was down in volume, with small bunches and slightly higher acidity, producing wines with a leaner profile—lime, white peach, and subtle flint. Pinot noir was variable across sites, with lighter colour and more herbal aromatics, but fine tannins and red berry detail.
Overall, the 2023 was a cooler and wet season —defined by finesse rather than power.
Colour
Light to mid garnet with a light watermelon hue
Nose
The nose is dense with an ethereal mix of earthy beetroot laced with lifted red berry, rhubarb and cranberries aromas
Palate
The palate has delicate fine grained tannins with vibrant morello cherry acidity and core of comforting earthy characters. To push the tannin, serve the wine sightly cooler or to push the aroma and opulence, decant at room temperature.
Our wine-making varies only slightly each year and in the slower ripening years, and the years without significant heat spikes, our focus is generally on managing extraction to optimise aroma and avoid extraction of greener tannins. Multiple pick dates and small vessels were used to build complexity. Fermentation was encouraged with the use of pied cuves which we use in preference to wild fermentation as it generally gives us a more consistent result. Generally the frements where short and warm. Fighting for deeper colour, in cooler years is something we no longer bother with and hopefully the world accepts cool climate pinot noir (and nebbiolo as well) as being generally lighter in colour. Elevage was in a mix of older oak and concrete vats and bottling occurred without fining but with filtration to give the wine a sparkling glean.
$360.00
Price per dozen
from the fertile soils of Leongatha, Gippsland Australia
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