Giant Steps Bastard Hill Pinot Noir 2025

Vintage Notes
The 2025 season kicked off with a generous, wet winter that filled the soil profile with moisture. From there, spring arrived warm and dry. Shoots pushed early; we had fantastic spring conditions during flowering and fruit set. The dry season pushed growth and ripening along even though temperatures weren’t hot, in fact barely warmer than average, a pleasant surprise for the dryness of the season. Harvest came earlier than usual and moved quickly, a compressed vintage that asked a great deal of the team and rewarded the effort with fruit of exceptional quality, concentration and weight.

Vineyard Notes
Location: Gladysdale Planted: 1986 Elevation: 380 metres Soil Type: Volcanic loam (red / ferrous) Aspect: North and south facing slopes Size: 13 Hectares Situated in Gladysdale in the Upper Yarra Valley, Bastard Hill is a 31-hectare property with 13 hectares of vines planted exclusively to Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. Its expressive name comes from the vineyard’s steep slopes and high altitude, ranging from 300 to 400 metres. Planted in the late 1980s by viticultural legend Ray Guerin, Bastard Hill was initially dedicated to the production of super-premium sparkling wine. Its potential for still wines was quickly recognised, with Bastard Hill Chardonnay and Pinot Noir first released in the 1990s. The Pinot Noir from this block is elegant, perfumed and finely structured, showing bright red fruit, bergamot, quince paste and sweet red liquorice. Silky, fine-boned tannins carry the palate, with a graphite-like frame and a slippery, elongated finish.

Winemaking
From one block, handpicked and chilled overnight before being 100% destemmed into a seasoned French oak vat for fermentation. The grapes were cold soaked for four days before fermentation began and spent 15 days on skins, with gentle mixing throughout that time using gravity. All parcels completed malolactic fermentation and were then matured in French oak barriques (225L), 22% new, 78% seasoned for ten months. This wine was matured without racking in contact with its lees before blending in December. Bottled by gravity. No fining. No filtration.

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