Pike & Joyce Adelaide Hills "Vue du Nord" Pinot Noir 2023 - Adelaide Hills, Australia

Bronze - Mike Bennie, Halliday Wine Companion

Bronze - James Suckling (2022 vintage)
Bronze - Ned Goodwin MW, Halliday Wine Companion (2022 vintage)
Bronze - Stuart Knox, The Real Review (2022 vintage)
90/100 Jeni Port, Halliday Wine Companion (2021 vintage)
Bronze - Huon Hooke, The Real Review (2021 vintage)
92/100 Tony Love, Halliday Wine Companion (2020 vintage)

5 Star - Halliday Wine Companion

Silver - Australian Pinot Noir Challenge (2022 vintage)
Bronze - Royal Adelaide Wine Show (2022 vintage)
Bronze - Adelaide Hills Wine Show (2022 vintage)
Bronze - Australian & New Zealand Boutique Wine Show (2021 vintage)
Bronze - Adelaide Hills Wine Show (2021 vintage)
Gold - Adelaide Hills Wine Show (2020 vintage)

Mike Bennie, Halliday Wine Companion "Juicy, bright, vivacious red wine with sour-sweet cherry characters, smoky spice elements, touches of dried herb, some truffle and fig/date notes in the mix – bouquet and palate in tandem here. The texture is supple upfront, then finishes with some twiggy, slightly bitter elements to the tannin profile, soft as it may be. "

James Suckling "This is a delicious first cab in a hierarchy of pinot. Classy and the equal, on many levels, of Pike & Joyce's single clonal expressions. Lifted aromas of ripe strawberries, poached rhubarb and griotte, that most Burgundian accent seldom found in pinot from these parts. The palate is expansive, bound to a gentle tannic twine. Just a bit thin. But that is drawing needles from the proverbial. An impressive, open-fronted wine offering great satisfaction." (2022 vintage)

Ned Goodwin MW, Halliday Wine Companion "This is a delicious first cab from the rank in a hierarchy of pinot. Classy and the equal, on many levels, of Pike & Joyce's single clonal expressions. Lifted scents of fecund strawberry, poached rhubarb and griotte, that most burgundian accent seldom found in pinot on these shores. The palate is expansive, bound to a gentle tannic twine. Just a bit thin. But that is drawing needles from the proverbial. An impressive, open-fronted wine offering great satisfaction." (2022 vintage)

Stuart Knox, The Real Review "Light ruby red colour. Fragrant raspberry, rose petal and clove aromatics. Light bodied with bright and sweet red berry fruits at the core. Some clove and cinnamon spice notes adding interest and it runs with supple softness to a medium length finish." (2022 vintage)

Jeni Port, Halliday Wine Companion "Juicy fruit with a high liveliness quotient, this young Adelaide Hills pinot noir will undoubtedly be enjoyed sooner rather than later. Boasts a fine, linear tannin structure, the perfect launch pad for a volley of ripe red berries, plums, leafy dried herbs and earth. Clean and fresh but also with depth, which will become more apparent with age." (2021 vintage)

Huon Hooke, The Real Review "Medium depth bright red-purple colour; sweet raspberry to red cherry aromas, a hint of sarsaparilla, the palate light-bodied and straightforward, with a short carry and modest depth. A pleasant lighter, simpler style of pinot and the price is right." (2021 vintage)

Australian & New Zealand Boutique Wine Show "Light-bodied. Elegant and refined. Lovely poise. Fine." (2021 vintage)

Australian & New Zealand Boutique Wine Show "Bright lifted vibrant. Juicy fruit clear/clean and precise." (2021 vintage)

Tony Love, Halliday Wine Companion "All estate-grown fruit, with 5 clones in play. Wild fermented in more than 40 small parcels, with varying vinification including whole bunches, whole berries and a range of maceration times. All matured in 25% new barriques for 8 months. We get darker cherry fruit notes, concentration and integrated secondary characters, peppery spice and well-woven wood. Everything is in place, but it wants for just a little more edge." (2020 vintage)

This is a partnership between the Pike family (of Clare Valley fame) and the Joyce family, related to Andrew Pike’s wife, Cathy.

The winery is situated in Lenswood, which is a subregion of the Adelaide Hills. The Adelaide Hills region is well-known for its cool climate, high-altitude vineyards, and diverse range of premium cool-climate wines.

The Joyce family have been orchardists at Lenswood for over 100 years and also have extensive operations in the Riverland. Together with Andrew they have established this vineyard site, which was previously apple and pear orchards, is characterized by steep North and East facing slopes and possesses fantastic gravelly clay and loam soils which are ideally suited to the classic cool climate varieties that have been planted – Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Gris, Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. to sauvignon blanc (5.9ha), pinot noir (5.73ha), pinot gris (3.22ha), chardonnay (3.18ha) and semillon (0.47ha). The wines are made at the Pikes’ Clare Valley winery and exported around the world.

The vineyard is all hand pruned and handpicked with the fruit being chilled overnight in the Joyce cool rooms. Traditional old world techniques as well as modern Australian winemaking are incorporated to produce a style which reflects the variety and region."

Pike & Joyce owns and operates vineyards covering around 32 hectares in the Lenswood area of Adelaide Hills. The vineyards are planted at varying altitudes, providing an excellent opportunity to grow a variety of grape varieties that thrive in the cool climate.

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 forest floor. Well-built Pinot Noirs, particularly from warmer harvests, also exhibit notes of leather and violets, sometimes approaching the flavor spectrum of Syrah.