2025 Giant Steps Circle of Fifths Pinot Noir

96 pts
The 'second album' of the Giant Steps Circle of Fifths wines.

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Sale price$54.00
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Description

Following the successful debut in 2024, the "Circle of Fifths" returns to show exactly why Mel Chester and the Giant Steps team decided to create this super-blend. While the single-vineyard wines are pure, individual tones, this wine is the full chord - a blend of Applejack, Sexton, Tarraford, Primavera, and Bastard Hill. It captures the best of the Yarra Valley by finding harmony between the different altitudes and soil types of these iconic sites.

The 2025 season kicked off with plenty of winter rain, providing a buffer for a warm, dry summer. The result was an earlier-than-usual harvest, but the fruit arrived in pristine condition with great flavour depth and naturally vibrant acidity. The winemaking is all about gentle extraction, using roughly 20% whole-bunch parcels to add a spicy, floral lift, while 22% new French oak provides a polished structural frame.

It’s a seamless jam session of red berries and savoury spice. It’s got the perfume and elegance you expect from Giant Steps, but with a completeness that comes from blending five distinct "voices" into one. It’s an effortless, sophisticated Pinot that’s ready to drink now but has more than enough substance to evolve beautifully over the next few years.

96+ points
"A medium, bright crimson red. A beautifully fragrant wine with its aromas of perfectly ripened strawberry, black raspberry, rose, lavender and cinnamon stick. Unfurls on the medium-bodied, textured and mouth-filling palate. The tannins are succulent and you barely notice the whole bunches. A step up on last year's Circle of Fifths and a wine that will still be looking good a decade from now."
- Philip Rich (Halliday Wine Companion)

96+ points - "A medium, bright crimson red. A beautifully fragrant wine with its aromas of perfectly ripened strawberry, black raspberry, rose, lavender and cinnamon stick. Unfurls on the medium-bodied, textured and mouth-filling palate. The tannins are succulent and you barely notice the whole bunches. A step up on last year's Circle of Fifths and a wine that will still be looking good a decade from now." - Philip Rich (Halliday Wine Companion)

Background
Blended exclusively from our single sites in similar proportions, Circle of Fifths wines bring together the character of each vineyard in one harmonious expression. They capture the strengths of our unique sites into one wine, coming together to tell a new story.
“Where the Single Vineyard wines are the pure tones of each vineyard, Circle of Fifths is the chord.” -Melanie Chester

Vintage Notes
The 2025 season began with above average winter rainfall, providing excellent soil moisture heading into spring. Warm, dry conditions through spring encouraged early shoot development and minimal disease pressure during flowering. Combined with the strong soil moisture reserves, this supported healthy vine canopies across the vineyards. Summer continued in a warm and dry pattern, leading to an earlier-than-average start to harvest. While the vintage was relatively compressed, the low disease pressure and strong vine health allowed fruit to be picked in excellent condition. The resulting wines show vibrant acidity, balance and depth of flavour, with the structure and freshness to age beautifully.

Vineyard Notes
Tarraford, Sexton, Primavera, Applejack and Bastard Hill Vineyards

Winemaking
At Giant Steps, we hand pick 100% of our fruit and fastidiously hand sort in the vineyard. Pinot Noir follows one of two pathways: either fermented semi carbonic with 100% whole bunch, or destemmed and fermented as whole berries. The approach for each parcel is determined by clone, vineyard, stem ripeness and flavour profile.
Whole bunch batches are fermented warm with minimal mixing for around 14 days. Destemmed parcels undergo a three-day cold soak before being allowed to warm naturally and begin fermentation.
Cap management is carried out using gravity drain and returns, allowing for gentle extraction prior to pressing. The wines are transferred by gravity to French oak barriques for malolactic fermentation and remain on lees throughout maturation.
The parcels are blended in spring ahead of bottling in January. The 2025 Circle of Fifths Pinot Noir includes 20% whole bunch parcels and 22% new French oak, and is bottled by gravity without fining or filtration.

Price Bracket $51 to $100
Type Red
Body Light Bodied
Variety Pinot Noir
Country Australia
Region Yarra Valley
Australian State VIC
Feature Women in Wine
High Score
Reviewed By Halliday Wine Companion
The Wine Front
Critic Score 96
Alcohol 13.5%
Size 750ml
Vintage 2025
Closure Screw Cap

Giant Steps

Giant Steps is a premium Yarra Valley outfit founded by Phil Sexton and located in the township of Healesville. Beginning with the vision of original head winemaker Steve Flamsteed, Giant Steps developed an international reputation for producing some of Australia's finest examples of single vineyard Pinot Noir & Chardonnay.

In 2021 the exceptionally talented Melanie Chester joined the team as the new head of winemaking and viticulture, marking an exciting new chapter in this elite producer's story.

Every aspect of the Giant Steps process is geared towards making truly world-class wines from the vineyard to the final bottled wine. The focus is on what the Yarra does best - Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, Shiraz/Syrah and Bordeaux-variety blends - and showcasing the unique terroirs of some of the region's finest vineyards.

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