Pinot Noir sourced from sites across Tasmania – Pipers River, West Tamar Valley, Coal River Valley, the East Coast and several clones (114, 115, MV6, D5V12, and G5V15). A wonderfully perfumed wine with red cherry, raspberry and a liminal wisp of watermelon melding with hints of pressed rose petals, exotic spice, hoisin, citrus blossom, game meats, mushroom broth, mountain herbs and undergrowth. Airy and shows a real sense of space and grace on the palate. Red fruited with layered spice and gamey complexity, fine gypsum-like tannins and a finish that trails off slowly, showing pristine fruit and a real sense of harmony.
While this is not a single vineyard wine, it is, in fact, assembled from several single vineyard plots. Jim Chatto’s idea behind this wine is to present an image of Tasmanian Pinot Noir as a whole in this wine, given it draws its flavours from Derwent, Coal River, East Coast and Tamar sub-regions. The idea is to collate flavours to assemble a light, bright, pure wine focussed on cherry, mulberry, and red plum tones and with 15% whole bunch inclusion adding imperceptible crunch and tension, and lending a framework to the silky fruit, it is not surprisingly very close to drinking on release. There are no visible tannins, only chalky acidity that neatly clips the soothing flavours, sending you back to the glass for another sip. This is a wine that will appeal to newbies and lifers alike. If this is Chatto’s Lutruwita tone for the foreseeable future, then it acts as the perfect ambassador for the rest of the portfolio.
