Giant Steps "Sexton Vineyard" Pinot Noir 2022 ~ Yarra Valley, Australia

96/100 Philip Rich, Halliday Wine Companion
95/100 James Suckling
94/100 The Wine Front
94/100 Huon Hooke, The Real Review
93/100 Robert Parker, Wine Advocate
92/100 Decanter
96/100 Philip Rich, Halliday Wine Companion (2021 vintage)
96/100 James Suckling (2021 vintage)
94/100 Huon Hooke, The Real Review (2021 vintage)
94/100 Wine Enthusiast (2021 vintage)
93+/100 Robert Parker, Wine Advocate (2021 vintage)
93/100 The Wine Front (2021 vintage)

5 Stars Winery - James Halliday

Gold - Australian Pinot Noir Challenge
Bronze - Australian Pinot Noir Challenge (2021 vintage)

Philip Rich, Halliday Wine Companion "From the Sexton vineyard in Gruyere. Destemmed with whole berries and matured nine months in French barriques (20% new). A deep ruby crimson. The densest and most brooding of the Giant Steps Yarra Valley single-vineyard pinots from 2022. You'll find bramble berries, freshly ploughed earth and a little black pepper. Savoury and concentrated on the palate, there is plenty of meat on the bones with substantial and persistent tannins masked by the sheer weight of plush fruit at this stage. A succulent wine."

James Suckling "Aromas of clove, bing cherries, lilac and mulch. A darker composition. A carnal whiff of autumnal leaves and Lapsang souchong. Detailed tannins compress a mid-weighted palate of impressive density and freshness. This will unravel nicely across the mid-term, based on poise and succulent length. A reductive clench at the finish confers further tension."

Huon Hooke, The Real Review "Medium-deep red with a strong purple rim, the bouquet is clean and has cherry to raspberry fruits, ripe and aromatic and laced with herb and floral nuances. There is good intensity of flavour in the mouth, tightly focused and supplied with a lip-smacking firmness from the tannins. Depth and penetration: this would benefit from a little time to reveal its full glory."

Robert Parker, Wine Advocate "These are later-ripening clones that can stand up to a little more heat. Blue fruited and plush, the 2022 Sexton Vineyard Pinot Noir is meaty and exotic; it's layered with roast beef crust, star anise and fennel, plenty of pepper and the sense of all things black. It has a lovely tannin splay through the finish."

Decanter "Savoury, with earth and graphite notes on a slightly reduced and closed nose – a function of nutrient-poor grey clay loam soils. In the mouth it reveals ripe plum, cherry and dusty fig flavours, with meaty undertones and a hint of tobacco. Still very young, this 100% destemmed Pinot needs time to flesh out. The fruit comes from the saddle of the Sexton vineyard, planted to the MV6, G5V15 and Abel clones."

Philip Rich, Halliday Wine Companion "From the Sexton vineyard in Gruyere, planted on the same grey clay as the Applejack vineyard; 50% whole bunches and 50% destemmed. Matured 11 months in French barriques (20% new). Bottled unfined and unfiltered. A dark, deep crimson. A more robust Yarra Valley pinot with its aromas of dark cherries, black plum and a dried-earth character that makes it quite different to the other Giant Step single-vineyard pinots. Sweetly fruited, concentrated and structured on the palate, what this impressive wine doesn't have in finesse, it makes up for in power and grunt." (2021 vintage)

James Suckling "Complex from the very first moment. Aromas of blueberries, red and dark cherries, sappy and herbal notes, as well as hard brown spices, blackcurrants and violets. The palate has such succulent and energetic style, with red and dark cherries and blueberries sitting in a very complete and layered, fine brand of tannin. The depth and plushness are both impressive." (2021 vintage)

Huon Hooke, The Real Review "Very bright, youthful purple colour, medium depth, the nose also very young and a bit callow, with some estery notes, plummy notes too, the palate intense and quite powerful, straightforward and bold with a hint of mid-palate fruit sweetness and a very long carry. It's not that delicate but is a solid mouthful of pinot, and should reward a little cellar time." (2021 vintage)

Wine Enthusiast "After short time in glass, this Pinot blossoms into a graceful, multifaceted wine. Bright and fruity, it offers delicate blueberry and raspberry fruit threaded softly with clove, vanilla and rose petal notes. The palate is elegantly structured with sandy-textured, fine tannins, juicy acidity and a long tangy finish." (2021 vintage)

Robert Parker, Wine Advocate "Sexton Vineyard is planted on shallow gray dirt over mudstone. The elevation is 220 meters and shows the magic of a warmer part of the Yarra in a relatively cool year. Plum skin, chinotto, fig, blueberries and exotic spices form the backdrop to the bright strawberry/cherry fruit. The 2021 Sexton Vineyard Pinot Noir is structurally quite different from the other vineyards, in that the tannins are more grainy and gravelly and provide more framework from which the fruit can hang. It is perhaps more obvious in its display of fruit and tannin, but with that comes a sonorous baritone of tannin and flavor. Impressive."

Giant Steps is a privately owned, estate based, Yarra Valley grower and winemaker. Giant Steps has forged a reputation for delivering some of Australia’s most consistent, over-performing, varietal wines. These wines have received global acclaim and established a strong reputation in restaurants and fine wine stores around the world.

Since 2003 Giant Steps wines have collectively been awarded 19 trophies and over 50 gold medals at major international and domestic wine shows and has been named one of the Top 100 Wineries in the World by Wine & Spirits Magazine, US for each of the last three years. Owner Phil Sexton came to wine via beer. He started Little Creatures, a favourite of Aussie hopheads, in Perth (Western Australia). Winemaker Steve Flamsteed works exclusively on Giant Steps single vineyard wines. Yarra Valley is a region with a cool climate, best known for its Chardonnay and Pinot Noir.

Yarra Valley is an hour’s drive east of Melbourne. Located on the steep north-facing slopes of the Warramate Ranges, alongside the vineyards of Yarra Yering and Coldstream Hills, the Sexton vineyard is exposed and demanding. Being on the higher slopes, topsoil is thin and root systems have established themselves in shallow gravelly loams above a tough rocky clay base. Bunch yields set naturally low in this environment, facilitating a low intervention approach to what is otherwise hand-tended viticulture. Biodynamic vineyard management principles are being introduced with the purpose of further distinguishing the site and improving grape and wine quality.

Pinot Noir is the dominant red wine grape of Burgundy, now produced in wine regions all over the world, including western Germany, northern Italy, Chile, South Africa, Australia and, perhaps most notably, California, Oregon and New Zealand.

The essence of Pinot Noir wine is its aroma of strawberry and cherry (fresh red cherries in lighter wines and stewed black cherries in weightier examples), underpinned in the most complex examples by hints of the forest floor. Well-built Pinot Noirs, particularly from warmer harvests, also exhibits notes of leather and violets, sometimes approaching the flavour spectrum of Syrah.