{"product_id":"2025-giant-steps-sexton-vineyard-pinot-noir","title":"2025 Giant Steps Sexton Vineyard Pinot Noir","description":"\u003cp\u003eThere's always a bit of grit to Sexton. Planted in 1997 on the steep north-facing slopes of the Warramate Ranges in Gruyere, it's one of the warmer, earlier-ripening sites in the Giant Steps stable. The topsoil is thin, root systems push down into shallow gravelly loams above a rocky clay base, and yields set naturally low. What comes out is concentrated, confident and a touch bolder than anything else in the single vineyard lineup.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe 2025 season started with a wet winter building solid moisture reserves, then turned warm and dry through spring with excellent conditions at flowering and fruit set. Harvest came early and moved fast. Fruit was handpicked and fully destemmed to whole berries, cold soaked for four days before wild fermentation in a mix of small oak fermenters and open stainless vats, then matured in French oak barriques (22% new) for ten months on lees. Bottled by gravity, no fining, no filtration.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIt's dark, textural and expansive. Black cherry, blood plum, stewed rhubarb and a flicker of iodine and earth, with floral notes embedded deep in the fruit. Structurally firm and serious, with chewy tannins and a long, powerful finish. Philip Rich called it the most closed of the single vineyard Pinots today, and he's probably right. This one rewards patience.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cblockquote\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e96 points\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"There’s no escaping the seriousness of this wine. It’s cool, spicy and complex, but it has heft and power... It’s serious in style and seriously good.\"\u003cbr\u003e- Campbell Mattinson (The Wine Front)\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/blockquote\u003e\n\u003cblockquote\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e96 points\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"More black fruits than red fruits, stewed rhubarb, a little earth and iodine, too. This follows through onto the darkly fruited, compact and firmly structured palate.\"\u003cbr\u003e- Philip Rich (Halliday Wine Companion)\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/blockquote\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003ciframe width=\"560\" height=\"315\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/8wWTC6WSVAc?si=yyz7E0kVzk2LS-K4\" title=\"YouTube video player\"\u003e\u003c\/iframe\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cimg src=\"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/2572\/9722\/files\/GiantstepsVineyardmap_PNG_1024x1024_3bc85611-5d0c-482e-8555-12f6a95f35c9.jpg?v=1754281827\" alt=\"\"\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Giant Steps","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":44894385537067,"sku":"2025 Giant Steps Sexton Vineyard Pinot Noir","price":105.0,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/2572\/9722\/files\/2023GiantStepsSextonVineyardPinotNoir_8ed28042-9ca2-4e29-95e0-208f45acc3c6.png?v=1787288518","url":"https:\/\/www.differentdrop.com\/products\/2025-giant-steps-sexton-vineyard-pinot-noir","provider":"Different Drop","version":"1.0","type":"link"}