2023 Ochota Barrels A Forest Pinot Noir South Australia

The opening bass line of A Forest by The Cure transcends the listener into a blissful, enigmatic and meditative trance in a place where the road splits into hopeful jubilation or heartfelt loss. The same holds true for this wine as nearly a decade on in the evolution of this wine, it has found the path of jubilation. The paradox of Adelaide Hills Pinot Noir is that the highs are there but often disappointment looms. Amber has achieved a lot of substance with this wine as the depth of flavor really takes it to places it has never gone. The fruit comes from Scanlon & Virgara vineyards, which have been the source since 2021. The clones remain a blend of triple-seven, D5V12, and the Swiss mother vine clone of MV6.

The grapes were hand-harvested partially destemmed (roughly 1/3 of the lot). The berries and bunches were kept separate by clone and cold soaked in open-top plastic fermenters until fermentation occurred naturally. The ferments were gently hand plunged across 1-2 weeks before being basket-pressed to old French barriques and puncheons for maturation. After six months the wine was bottled without fining or filtration and just a small addition of sulfur.