Cleanskin Pinot Noir 2023

Dry Grown Pinot Noir 2023

TASTING NOTES

Interesting Pinot Noir we have here. Leather, mint, dried cherries, strawberries and dried herbs, almost to liquorice. Medium bodied, dry and sinewy, with some tobacco and rose, even acidity and a pretty good finish. It’s a Pinot for Nebbiolo drinkers, and of course there’s nothing wrong with that. No shortage of character. VEGAN FRIENDLY

TECHNICAL DETAILS
Alcohol 13.5%
 

VINEYARD

Fruit sourced from our 46 year old 12 hectare Dry Grown Vineyard. Our old vines are not irrigated; something quite unusual in these days of mass commercial production. We prefer low-yielding wine crops with small berries. Although it limits our volume, having smaller fruit fosters an intensity of the flavour, with most of the colour and tannin of the grape being concentrated in or near the skin. The characteristically cool climate of the district ensures slow ripening of the grapes, which also allows for the development of rich flavour and quality grape juice. Grown on ancient gravely loams in Mount Barker, in the Great Southern region of Western Australia, an area renowned for excellence in cool climate viticulture. Our old vines are all cane pruned and yield 2 tonne per hectare with small bunch weights which add intensity of character and flavour. Galafrey harvest their grapes from mid March to late April depending on the season.

VINTAGE COMMENTS
After a dry spring we had cool conditions this vintage providing a perplexing vintage of both a dry and cool vintage in one. I have never seen one like it before. After a very dry but mild summer we had cool conditions during vintage. Temperatures were low but so was the rainfall providing both dry and cool conditions for the grapes. Whites look excellent. While reds will be lower in volume, pH and alcohol. 

WINEMAKING

Fun Fact! Galafrey wines was one of the first producers in WA to go and make Pinot Noir.

Hand-picked the grapes are dark in colour and small tight bunches. Whole bunch crush and plunged daily, it didn't take long for the wild yeast to develop and start fermenting. Keep on skins for a week then press out, the juice is strong in colour and flavour. Put straight into barrel and aged on French oak for a year before racking out and preparing for bottling. Minimal filtration and fining used to retain the strong colour and flavour.

These dry, cool to mild climate grapes of the Great Southern region will produce classic Pinot Noir, wines with great depth of flavour and structure. We endeavour through meticulous viticulture and wine production sympathetic to the vintage conditions to produce a Pinot Noir that will express varietal characters in tune with its sense of place. Left of Skins as long as possible to ensure depth of colour and flavour our winemaking is geared toward producing a wine that is harmonious, interesting, well-structured and most importantly drinkable, with a minimum of two years in quality French oak.