By Farr Farrside Pinot Noir 2014
$84.99
98 points and top rated pinot in Hallidays 2017 & 2018 Australian Wine Companion.
Out of stock
Description
We regard By Farr Wines of Geelong as one of the finest Pinot Noir and Chardonnay producers in the land . Yields for the 2014 reds are down 40% … which means our allocation is reduced with the winery expecting these releases to sell out within weeks! Wild winds and rain in November 2013 during flowering severely affected fruit set resulting in very low yields but thankfully a warm end of vintage produced vines in great health and beautiful quality fruit just not a lot to go around !! However as winemaker Nick Farr said of this vintage, the wines “ … will age quite gracefully with the concentration that comes with smaller vintages. A vintage we have found to be very perfumed in the barrel and now in bottle. Wines which have great direction, power and enjoyment”
By Farr’s most masculine pinot, a wine of robust structure and savouriness (due to the black volcanic soils I am assured and more stems in ferment -55 % whole bunch fermentation). Mix of Dijon clones, wild fermentation, followed by 18 months in 50% new French oak. This pinot is top shelf from a great vintage in Geelong
The Farrside vineyard sits on a northeast-facing slope and consists of limestone topped with black volcanic soil. The vines were planted in 2001 and run east-west to protect the fruit from overexposure to the sun. The clones are a mixture of 114, 115, 777, 667 and MV6. Even though the Farrside and Sangreal vineyards are only 300 metres apart, the darker soils and cooler growing conditions of the Farrside vineyard mean these grapes are picked 10 to 12 days after all others and produce a more masculine and edgy wine.
The fruit is hand-picked and sorted in the vineyard, then fermented in an open-top fermenter. Between 40 to 50 per cent of the fruit will be stemmed and then cold soaked for four days. They use only the natural yeast for the fermentation process, which takes roughly 12 days. Grape-stomping (known as pigeage) will occur two to three times a day depending on the amount of extraction required, and the wine is then placed in 50 to 60 per cent new Allier barrels by gravity. It is racked by gas after secondary fermentation, then again at 18 months to be bottled.
Farrside, with each vintage continues to show more masculinity, structure and savoury components than the other two pinots. Deep meaty, spicy and mineral are the flavours which continue to evolve Farrside as a site and wine. A balanced array of red and black fruits, it is fresh and edgy. A firm yet delicate wine with a long textured finish. Bucket loads of character.
Highest rated Australian Pinot Noir in James Halliday’s 2017 Australian Wine Companion and 98 points and included again in 2018 Best Pinot Noirs Australian Wine Companion: “Clones 114, 115, 667 and MV6, hand-picked and sorted, 60-70% destemmed, 4 days cold soak, wild-fermented, pigeaged 2-3 times daily, matured for 18 months in French oak (50-60% new). Good colour; the bouquet, while complex, is the calm before the storm of the palate, which strikes the second the wine enters the mouth, and doesn’t abate until long after the wine has gone from the glass. Its great character is the fusion of plum/black cherry fruit with a savoury carpet of spices and sweet earth. Quite simply, a very great pinot.”
RRP $92 Limited last stocks
Additional information
Producer | By Farr |
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Variety | Pinot Noir |
Region or Country | Australia, Geelong |
Vintage | 2014 |