2013 Gembrook Hill, Pinot Noir, Yarra Valley, Australia

Gembrook Hill

We are absolutely delighted to able to represent Gembrook Hill in the UK. Planted in 1983 by Ian and June Marks in the southern-most part of the Yarra Valley on what was originally a potato farm. This part of the Yarra Valley has deep, volcanic soils and a wet, cool climate with an average annual rainfall of 400 mm, not requiring irrigation. Grapes ripen late, almost a month after the lower Yarra. The vines were planted to form a natural amphitheatre and were all planted on their own roots.

Gembrook Hill is a small estate comprising 5ha of vineyards and the yields are small at 700 l/ha. The first wine was produced in 1989 and the winery constructed in 2000. Winemaker Andrew Marks’s philosophy is to make ‘smashable’ wines, as he puts it. By this he means wines that are light and elegant and easy to drink. Despite being smashable, the Gembrook wines offer some of the finest expression of Pinot Noir and Sauvignon Blanc from this part of Australia.

Yarra Valley

Victoria’s oldest viticultural area dates back to 1837. Initially it won admiration and trophies for its dry wines before losing out first to the fortifieds from South Australia, and then to the dairy cow. The 1960s saw its revival with Dr Bailey Carrodus founding Yarra Yering in 1969, closely followed by another medic, Dr John Middleton, launching Mount Mary in 1971.

Famous for its Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, the region has attracted interest from sparkling houses, notably Domaine Chandon as well as from one or two corporates; Melbourne’s continued sprawl represents the biggest threat to this Victorian idyll.

The climate is cool maritime (it’s just 15 miles to the ocean), exposed to wind and rain with spring frosts a potential risk. The region’s warmer northerly aspects are preferred for viticulture. The best soils are underpinned by a low vigour, red-brown clay subsoil, while a significant swathe of the region is characterised by vigorous deep-red loam.

Recommended producers: Toolangi, Mount Mary

Pinot Noir

Pinot Noir is probably the most frustrating, and at times infuriating, wine grape in the world. However when it is successful, it can produce some of the most sublime wines known to man. This thin-skinned grape which grows in small, tight bunches performs well on well-drained, deepish limestone based subsoils as are found on Burgundy's Côte d'Or.

Pinot Noir is more susceptible than other varieties to over cropping - concentration and varietal character disappear rapidly if yields are excessive and yields as little as 25hl/ha are the norm for some climats of the Côte d`Or.

Because of the thinness of the skins, Pinot Noir wines are lighter in colour, body and tannins. However the best wines have grip, complexity and an intensity of fruit seldom found in wine from other grapes. Young Pinot Noir can smell almost sweet, redolent with freshly crushed raspberries, cherries and redcurrants. When mature, the best wines develop a sensuous, silky mouth feel with the fruit flavours deepening and gamey "sous-bois" nuances emerging.

The best examples are still found in Burgundy, although Pinot Noir`s key role in Champagne should not be forgotten. It is grown throughout the world with notable success in the Carneros and Russian River Valley districts of California, and the Martinborough and Central Otago regions of New Zealand.