This cuvée is sourced from the original 1989 plantings of Pinot Noir - MV6 & Morillon Clones (Morillon Clone is vine material sourced from Best’s original Pinot Noir vineyard a Swiss clone). Only one barrel has been kept seperate, meaning there’s only a mere 22 dozen produced of this wine produced. Each vintage we always keep each individual block seperate through fermentation & élevage, it's always an important & fascinating experience to see the differences between each block as they go through the the different stages. Harvested on the 1/4/22, all destemmed into one open concrete 3000L fermenter, spontaneous fermentation via our indigenous yeast, pump overs once a day, basket pressed 12/04/2022, transferred into 228L barriques of various coopers, topped monthly, sulphur added post malo in November, racked from barrels in late march 2023 no fining or filtering, bottled on 3/10/23. A small amount of sulphur post malo & pre bottling.
2022 Block '1989' Pinot Noir
97/100
Huon Hooke
The colour is deep and bright with a strong purple rim and the bouquet is quite marked by char-oak and dark-berry/dark-cherry fruit aromas, bold and bright. The oak gives a distinct smoky, fivespice note throughout the wine, which has a lovely silky mouth-feel and a very long, sustained and seamless carry. Marvellous focus and precision in the mouth. Impressive depth and concentration. It just needs more time for the oak to mellow into the wine. So impressive! (MV6 &
Morillon clones. Just 22 dozen made from one barrel from the original vines planted in 1989. 100% destemmed fruit. Unfined, unfiltered, wild fermented.) 23 MAR 2023
2024-2036
Mike Bennie - The Wine Front
From the 1989 plantings, of course. One barrel only. There’s a bar in Newtown, Sydney, called 1989, which features old school arcade games and drinks to go alongside. Never been in, but it seems to be busy. I’d be playing Wonder Boy first, then Double Dragon, then play with Balrog or M.Bison on Street Fighter, which would be an unpopular thing, but that’s the characters I liked.
Elegance and grace. Poised and precise. Very good red wine from every angle, with fragrance, mineral qualities, judicious sense of seasoning of the fruit and mid-weight concentration that draws out long and spicy with each sip. Dark cherry, old spice cupboard, graphite, dried herbs, brambly berries. Delicious. And a sense of refreshment factor. What a beauty.
Rated : 95 Points
Tasted : MAR23
Alcohol : 13.4%
Closure : Diam
Drink : 2023 - 2035+