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Buy OnlineOn Giants Shoulders may be a label that is unfamiliar to you, but the pedigree for this vineyard goes back a long way. The vines from which this pinot comes used to supply fruit for the much lauded 'Pahi' pinot from Escarpment.
The winery has changed hands a couple of times since, but the quality of wines being produced has remained unchanged. The next chapter for this up-and-coming brand will see winemaker Wilco Lam (ex Dry River) take the helm and the brand given a refresh, so the upshot is we can offer this high-end pinot (hailing from the exceptional 2020 vintage) at lower price point than intended.
Those looking a quality Martinborough Pinot without the price tag should jump on this.
Winery notes (2020 Vintage)
"The 2020 vintage can be classed as one of the classic years in line with 2013, 2008, 2001 and possibly 1996. A benign spring with favourable temperatures over November and December resulted in good fruit-set and thus potential yield. From Christmas onwards the season dried up with very little precipitation until April. You might remember our first lockdown, it was on the eve of the start of our harvest, the weather was amazing, and winegrowers got the green light to pick and complete the harvest. 2020 was a lockdown wine, made under the strictest of hygiene requirements and little social interaction. So, please share and enjoy this wine, it was a bit lonely in the early days and would love your attention and social interaction! Like our lockdown, the impact of the wine will show over time as its power and character unravels.
The wine welcomes you with a complex nose of “fruits of the forest”, Gateaux, nougat and fresh straw. The fruit driven nose is balanced out with signs of ripe woody tannins, likely from the fruit and some of the stems that were used in the ferment, and hints of thyme and spice. The ripe fruit shows as a sweet character on the front of the palate. Quickly this is harnessed in by fine grained tannins that keep the palate active and a lively acidity that helps lengthen the wine with a fine finish. It will take another two or three years for the shy character to unfold and the mid palate to open up further to give the best drinking pleasure."
Reviews for the 2019 vintage below…
5 Stars Michael Cooper (2019 Vintage)
"The impressive 2019 vintage is a single-vineyard, hand-harvested red, matured for a year in French oak casks (20 per cent new). A powerful young wine, with full, bright colour, it is mouthfilling, with concentrated, ripe cherry, plum and spice flavours, seasoned with nutty oak, excellent complexity and obvious cellaring potential; best drinking 2023+."
