Scorpo Estate Pinot Noir 2020

Scorpo has for some time sat comfortably within the highest rank of Australian cool-climate winegrowers, quietly composing excellent wines and steadily raising the bar year upon year. The planning, planting, nurturing and honing of the vineyard absorb the attention of trained horticulturist and landscape architect Paul Scorpo. The process of perfecting the site continues, with closer plantings and more precise clonal selections the latest developments. The vineyard rolls over red/brown, clay-rich soils derived from tertiary Eocene volcanics dating back about 40 million years. The vines are planted at an altitude of between 70 and 100m on a north- to northeast-facing slope with a 10% gradient. It’s a brilliant suntrap with ideal drainage to slowly grow and ripen grapes. The celebrated Pinot Gris is planted both here and on the other side of the ridge - the southwest-exposed slope towards Port Phillip Bay. The wines are consistently imbued with nuance, depth and texture. They are wines which - without ever raising their voice - resonate equally with the mind and senses.

Paul Scorpo produces some truly superb fruit from his meticulously planted vineyard on the Mornington Peninsula. In a very short space of time Scorpo has built a reputation for making some of the Peninsula’s best wines.

Already looks very composed. Red fruit and oak (spice, slight creaminess) already integrated. Appealing berry compote and cream. Medium bodied, this feels perfumed and pure and clean-fruited in the mouth; a touch of plushness - just right - pulpy and balanced, and the acidity nicely nudges it through. Fresh. Lovely fruit, and very well put together.