2018 Giaconda Estate Vineyard Pinot Noir 750ml

Overview

Giaconda’s Estate Vineyard Pinot Noir is a powerful yet refined expression of Beechworth Pinot Noir. The 2018 vintage combines ripe red and black fruits with savoury complexity, spice and a firmly structured palate, supported by impressive depth and long-term cellaring potential.

Vineyard & Winemaking

Giaconda’s red wines are made with a combination of whole bunch and de-stemmed crushed fruit, fermented in terracotta amphora. The wines remain on skins for an extended period to develop softer, finer tannins and greater complexity before basket pressing and maturation in French oak barrels. The winery follows a low-intervention approach using indigenous yeasts for fermentation and natural malolactic fermentation, with minimal sulphur additions and no filtration before bottling.

Producer Tasting Notes

Giaconda describes the 2018 Estate Vineyard Pinot Noir: “Magenta dye and blood red. Both red and black fruits play a part here; high toned, spicy notes jostle with a fragrant oak lift, balanced by roasted beetroot, blood plums; simply seductive on the palate, rounded, spicy, elegant and yet so powerful. The tannins are a masterclass in perfection, present yet discretely playing in the background whilst the fruit stands front of stage.”

Critic Reviews

96/100 — Jeremy Oliver
Drinking window: 2030–2038.

95/100 — Huon Hooke, The Real Review
“Medium to deep red colour with a good purple tint. The bouquet is black-fruited and earthy, spicy and oak-tinged… a fuller-bodied palate with excellent tannin backbone… An impressively powerful, structured pinot with great cellaring potential.”
Tasted 14 May 2020

94/100 — Jasper Morris, Inside Burgundy
Tasted April 2024

James Suckling
“This has a spicy array of red cherries, blueberries and pomegranate with blood oranges and some sappy nuances. The palate has such attractively fresh and succulent texture and a very juicy, supple and smooth-honed feel. The tannins have a gently chalky, smooth-honed, measured and seamless texture. Glorious, delicious pinot. Drink over the next ten years.”
Tasted May 2020

Specifications

• Vintage: 2018
• Producer: Giaconda Vineyard & Winery
• Wine: Estate Vineyard Pinot Noir
• Grape Variety: Pinot Noir
• Region: Beechworth, Victoria, Australia
• Alcohol: 13.5%
• Fermentation: Terracotta amphora, using a combination of whole bunch and de-stemmed crushed fruit
• Yeast: Indigenous yeast
• Pressing: Basket pressed
• Maturation: French oak barrels
• Filtration: Unfiltered before bottling
• Drinking Window: 2030–2038 (Jeremy Oliver)