The Story R. Lane Vintners Henty Pinot Noir 2017

The 2017 R. Lane Vintners Henty Pinot Noir is, like its 2016 younger sibling, from the Rowan's Lane Vineyard at Warrnambool, planted on black volcanic friable ashy loam over limestone and shells and sand. The vineyard is a mix of two clones, the workhorse MV6 and the slightly earlier ripening 115. The vineyard is very free draining and produces tiny berries on tiny bunches, which we usually ferment as 100% intact whole bunches in 1000lt oak fermenters over 3 weeks with indigenous yeasts. I’ve trumpeted the quality of our 2017 wines for a while now, and this site revelled in the cooler year, giving lovely red fruits, Turkish delight and pink flowers which explode on the palate. it’s juicy but deeply savoury at the same time. The unmistakable ashen, coal tar character we see every year is still there, but this year it’s just a foil for the pure pinot fruit. Unquestionably the best wine we have made from this site, and worthy of carrying the eponym. It’ll age well, but its delicious now with a short decant.