Awards & Ratings
James Suckling: score not shown（Tasted Feb 2015）
Jeannie Cho Lee: 94/100（Tasted Sep 2015）
The Wine Front: 96/100（2012 Vintage）
CellarTracker: 94/100（2012 Vintage）
About This Wine
Region: Geelong, Victoria, Australia
Grape Variety: 100% Pinot Noir
Style: Red – Light and Perfumed
ABV: 13.5%
Maturation: Oaked（French Oak）
Closure: Cork
Vineyard Notes
The Farrside vineyard sits on a northeast-facing slope and consists of limestone topped with black volcanic soil. The vines were planted in 2001 and run east-west to protect the fruit from overexposure to the sun. The clones are a mixture of 114, 115, 777, 667 and MV6. Even though the Farrside and Sangreal vineyards are only 300 metres apart, the darker soils and cooler growing conditions of the Farrside vineyard mean these grapes are picked 10 to 12 days after all others and produce a more masculine and edgy wine.
Winemaking
The fruit is hand-picked and sorted in the vineyard, then fermented in an open-top fermenter. Between 40 to 50 per cent of the fruit is stemmed and then cold soaked for four days. Only natural yeast is used for fermentation, which takes roughly 12 days. Grape-stomping (pigeage) occurs two to three times a day depending on extraction requirements.
Ageing
The wine is placed in 50–60% new Allier barrels by gravity. It is racked by gas after secondary fermentation, then again at 18 months before bottling.
Producer Tasting Notes
Each vintage of Farrside pinot noir exhibits more masculinity, structure and savoury components, while deep meaty, spicy and mineral flavours also continue to evolve. A balanced array of red and black fruits, fresh and edgy with substantial character. Firm yet delicate with a long-textured finish.
