Hoddles Creek Estate Pinot Noir 2021

94 Points Campbell Mattinson, Winefront

Hoddles Creek Estate was established in 1997 when the D’Anna family decided to establish a vineyard on the property that has been in the family since 1960. The vineyard sits astride Gembrook road and adjacent Hoddles Creek. Its steeply sloping blocks prohibit mechanical harvesting, with both vineyards being hand pruned and harvested. All their wines, which are single vineyard, estate grown, are made in their 300 tonne winery, constructed for the 2003 vintage. The split-level winery has a barrel store located three meters underground.

All fruit is hand-picked in the morning and immediately de-stemmed with no crushing. In tank the fruit will have a small addition of sulphur. Some batches were left to cold soak for approximately 4-5 days, whilst others started fermentation immediately. Natural and cultured yeasts were used on different ferments. Pigage and delastage were used for cap management. Some ferments will undergo post maceration, depending on the tannin structure and the style of the wine. On completion of fermentation the wine was gently pressed and transferred to 30% new, 30% one year old and the balance in two and three year old oak, After 11 months of barrel maturation, the wine was assembled and bottled without filtration or fining.

“This release jumps out at you. It’s fragrant and lively, blessed with bell-clear varietal fruit flavour, blossomy, tannic and sure. Woodsmoke and oranges, red cherry and woodsy spice, mint and meat. It feels dry and tight but there’s enough here to suggest generosity; this release feels more eager to please than usual, and yet it still feels tight, and the lines of acidity are perfectly threaded. In short, if ever there was a no-brainer Hoddles Creek pinot release, this one is it.” – 94 Points Campbell Mattinson, Winefront.