Our Black Label Pinot Noir is our flagship wine, only made in exceptional vintages. It is a selection of the best barrels of the vintage, made from our highest Pinot Noir sites, in a full, complex and robust style. Fruit that goes into our Black Label tends to be of a darker fruit spectrum, slightly riper with a fuller, more intense mid-palate weight.

Clonal selection is key, as is oak maturation. Only tight-grain French oak is used and elevage is extended to approximately 14 months in barrel. Whilst still elegant – as is typical of Pinot Noir of the Orange region – the extra tannin support from oak and through the use of whole clusters in the ferment, brings an element of power to this wine which allows it to age beautifully and pair beautifully with food.

The 2023 rendition of this wine comes from three different vineyard sites across the Orange wine region. These range from 760 – 1080m ASL and each contain multiple clones of Pinot Noir. The beauty of this is the variation we can achieve in each of the separate batches, which can then be used to create complexity within the final wine.

2023 was incredibly cool and late, which brought a lovely, prolonged ripening to the fruit. Acid retention was as good as we’ve ever seen, adding a natural vibrancy to the fruit.  It was nicely balanced then by an intensity of flavour afforded by the long hang-time on the vines. A great year for Pinot Noir!

COLOUR – Garnet red with purple hues.

NOSE – Characters of dark cherries and plums, some exotic spices, anise and white pepper. There’s a raspberry cheesecake note that is very inviting, some finishing with a savoury, roasted nut finish.

PALATE – Evenly balanced throughout, with a bright, red-fruited core. There’s plenty of interest on the mid-palate with multiple layers of herbs and dark chocolate with plum. Tannin structure is spot-on and add firmness. Grainy, talc-like and fine, but not drying. There’s a hint of stalk derived tea character as well, before finishing off with bright acid and char.

Winemaking notes:

• Handpicked into 10kg picking lugs from 3 different sites ranging from 760 – 1080m ASL
• Four Clones of Pinot Noir – 777 (37%), 115 (33%), MV6 (17%), 667 (13%)
• Average of 30% whole cluster fermentation by native yeasts
• 21 days on skins
• Pressed and racked to French oak 228L barriques
• Natural malolactic fermentation in barrel before a light sulphur addition
• 14 months in oak.
• Blended to tank and matured in stainless steel for 6 months
• No fining or filtration
• Bottled on site

“Medium full colour with a tinge of purple and the first aroma is of smoky toasty oak, quite spicy and attractive backed up by smoked meats and a touch of fivespice. A lovely perfume evolves with time in the glass. The wine has body and drive, excellent weight and structure, the tannins adding grip and backbone and contributing to a lengthy finish. Very stylish pinot noir.”

94 points. Ranked #1 of 27 Pinot Noir from NSW for vintage 2023.

Huon Hooke for The Real Review