Tech stuff

How was it made?

The wines are all fermented in the same way in four distinct phases, each equally important, the aim being to reveal the inherent nature of the fruit. The wine is kept separate right up to bottling. First, there is an aqueous cold soaking. At 10-14°C, the grape bunches are gently de-stemmed into open vats.

The cool, intact berries (no stems) are soaked in their own juice (no alcohol yet) for 5-7 days, building up inside the berries wonderful, pure flavours and aromas. Second, there is a spontaneous alcoholic fermentation with wild yeast for 5-7 days. The must is plunged by hand twice a day. There is no pumping over, no addition of enzymes, yeast food or other substances, and seldom any addition of acid (harvesting early helps to retain enough natural acid). The temperature rises to about 33°C. Third, the fermented must macerates on skins in the presence of alcohol for 5-7 days.

Fourth, the skins are basket-pressed and combined with the free-run wine for oak maturation. After fermentation, Hurley Vineyard Pinot Noir is matured in French oak barrels (228L made in Burgundy) from the forests of Troncais and Allier for about 18 months, of which one quarter to one half are new. We preferably use barrels made from staves conditioned in the open air in Burgundy for three years. The wine undergoes malolactic fermentation in barrel and remains on lees (for development of texture and complexity) for about eighteen months. It is racked once before bottling without filtration. Occasionally, it is very lightly fined with egg white. Sealed with Diam Corks.

Who made it?

Hurley Vineyard Pinot Noir is made by traditional methods on the estate. They have stated their philosophy and objective as – the expression of terroir with the honest purity of the peal of a bell. Their techniques for harvesting, fermenting and maturing the wines are all directed at revealing the truth about these wines and the place from which they come, and perhaps a little about themselves. They want to celebrate and contribute to the evolution of a modern, vibrant Australian culture. Hurley Vineyard Pinot Noir is usually garnet. It is typically fragrant, has a lovely mouth-feel and tastes intensely of plums, forest fruits and brown spice, with savoury nuances. There is red minerality. The wines are linear in structure, have nice tannins and linger in the palate. All the wines age well, the single vineyards more so – say eight to twelve years.