2024 TarraWarra Estate Swallowfield Vineyard Pinot Noir

96 pts
Lovely, detailed, single vineyard Pinot Noir from Gembrook in the Yarra Valley.

Price:
Sale price$75.00
Stock:
In stock, ready to ship
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Description

While the standard TarraWarra Pinot is your dependable midweek drinker, the Swallowfield Vineyard release is for those who want to dig a bit deeper into the Yarra’s sub-regions. It’s sourced from Gembrook, right down in the cool, southern tail of the valley. This vineyard's soil is a bit unusual, it's decomposed granite, a rarity in the Yarra which gives the Pinot a "rocky" energy you just don't get from the clay-heavy sites elsewhere.

The 2024 vintage saw a cool, wet start before a dry run home, giving winemaker Sarah Fagan fruit with excellent natural acidity and flavour depth. The winemaking is relatively simple: two weeks on skins to build texture, followed by eight months in French oak. With only 20% new wood, the focus remains squarely on fruit purity.

It’s a detailed, expressive Pinot that leads with bright forest berries and a lifted floral perfume. On the palate, that granite base shows through in the form of fine, persistent tannins and a refreshing mineral drive. It’s light on its feet but carries great concentration. It’s drinking beautifully now but has the stuffing to develop even more complexity over the next five to ten years.

96 points - "Sarah Fagan and her team have crafted two terrific 2024s from the 30-plus-year-old Swallowfield vineyard in Gembrook, which, significantly, TarraWarra have taken out a long-term lease on. 100% destemmed and fermented on skins for two and a half weeks. Deeply scented with aromas of black cherry intermingled with subtle potpourri and spices such as cardamom and clove. The palate is ripe, with excellent depth of fruit and slippery, persistent tannins rounding out a delicious wine to drink now and over the next four to six years." - Philip Rich (Halliday Wine Companion)

95+ points - "This is a pretty exciting wine. It’s very Upper Yarra in that it’s herbal, autumnal and juicy, with lightness as part of its armoury. But then it’s also reductive, strong of tannin and of push, complex, smoky, captivating, and quite beautifully persistent. If this is the new way of TarraWarra then I am on-board. The linger of bright fruit, twiggy herbs and general spice characters here is quite something." - Campbell Mattinson (The WineFront)

VINEYARD
Swallowfield Vineyard, Gembrook.
OVERVIEW
An incredible vineyard, defined by the decomposed granite base, which is seldomly seen in the region. First planted in 1990, then extended in 2000 with 12 hectares now under vine. Only planted to Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. Swallowfield is one of the most Southerly vineyards in the Yarra Valley.
VARIETY
Pinot Noir
CLONE/S
D5V12, 114, 115 & MV6.
SEASON NOTES
A vintage defined by both a cool and wet Spring and into early Summer. Warmer and dryer conditions were then experienced from mid-January onwards and has resulted in wines with great acidity, balance and flavour.
ALC/VOL
13.5%
HARVEST DATE
Hand harvested on the 14th and 15th March, 2024.
WINEMAKING
The fruit was hand harvested and cooled overnight before being destemmed into open fermenters. Thoughtful ferment handling was used to encourage balanced flavour, acidity and tannin structure. The wine spent 2 weeks on skins, prior to pressing and then filling off to oak for maturation. It was blended post oak maturation in November, for bottling in December 2024.
OAK
Matured in 100% French oak Puncheon and Barriques for 8 months. 20% new oak, with the balance being seasoned oak.
CELLARING
Will drink well now and will continue to develop further complexity over the next 5–10 years.

Price Bracket $51 to $100
Type Red
Body Light Bodied
Variety Pinot Noir
Country Australia
Region Yarra Valley
Australian State VIC
Feature High Score
Reviewed By Halliday Wine Companion
The Wine Front
Critic Score 96
Size 750ml
Vintage 2024
Closure Screw Cap

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