2019 Mystery Yarra Valley Pinot Noir Deal No. 98

Quite complex on the nose, this wine delivers opulent fresh, lifted, sweet, ripe wild strawberries and cherries with some savoury, toasty notes and some undergrowth truffle. On the palate, it is velvety, fruity, and lively with acidic linearity that lingers and indicates that it will develop with further aging. Quite tight at the moment, it will boastfully open to be a powerful wine with balanced acidity at the finish as well as good velvety fine tannins. As a result, it will be a wine that will continue to build in structure and flavour whilst simultaneously harmonising. Being a cool year, the wine will continue to develop and will take on more truffle and earthy complexity as it ages. Cellaring: 10 years plus.

A great cool year for this variety. These vineyards are planted on a northerly and slightly easterly aspect in the Yarra Valley with a yield of around 2.0 tonne to the acre. The fruit was gently destemmed without crushing the berries, and the must was divided into clonal batches, MV6,115, 114. Natural ferments reaching 38°C ensured maximum extraction of flavours and other essential fruit components including tannins and colour. Maceration extended up to 45 days with gentle hand plunging and pumping over. The wine was aged in 33% new French oak for a period of 12 months, with a further 12 months in bottle prior to release.