2018 RP Pinot Noir By Farr

By Farr

Australia / Geelong / By Farr

The fruit is handpicked and sorted in the vineyard, then fermented in an open-top fermenter. Between 40 to 50% of the fruit will be destemmed and then cold soaked for four days. We use only natural yeast for the fermentation process, which takes roughly 19 days. Grape-stomping (known as pigeage) will occur two to three times a day depending on the amount of extraction required, and the wine is then placed in 50 to 60% new Allier barrels by gravity. It’s racked by gas after secondary fermentation, then again at 18 months to be bottled.
A bouquet of absolute intrigue and undergrowth from an extremely fresh and high natural acidity vintage. The elegant yet savoury power that we’re growing to love from the Côte Vineyard wines is showing once again from both the Pinot and the GC Chardonnay. The palate is lengthy and layered. It is a Pinot that keeps giving with every minute in the glass. This is one of the great Pinots we have made, with fantastic ageing potential. - Nick Farr
The RP presents a nose that is disarmingly pretty, pure and integrated, a compactness that belies its complexity. Roses, cake spices and sweet red fruit - strawberry sorbet, cherry and cranberry - are immediately apparent, with a suggestion of peach and an exotic note, too. Good oak in the background. With air, fennel and terracotta emerge. The attack is juicy and inviting. The bright fruit has a just-picked freshness and immediacy, and the tannins seem to glisten with a suggestion of cinnamon sugar. It has the line and length of precise Chardonnay, like an arrow through the palate shooting very long and pure. It's medium-bodied, lithe and even, with sweet spices, saltiness and sour cherry settling on superfine, suede tannins long after the liquid has flowed through. A beautifully composed, harmonious Pinot that is so good to drink that you almost overlook the detail. – Ed Merrison, CellarHand

December, 2020

Campbell Mattinson

The Wine Front

95 points

2018 By Farr Cote Vineyard Pinot Noir
Pinot Noir is all about the finish and that’s where this wine is at its strongest. This is a refined pinot with complexity stitched intricately throughout. We see cherries, plums, mineral and sweet spice but everything is melted together. There’s also graphite and cedarwood oak but the character and vigour of the fruit keeps ahead of it. This is a wine you can just sit and admire but really, also, it’s a beautiful wine to drink. Texture. I should have mentioned the texture. There’s grain from integrated spice and twig-like notes but as a whole it feels like silk.

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About By Farr

The Farr family has presented a resolute and faithful rendering of the vineyards of Geelong since 1978. That’s when Gary Farr started out as winemaker at Bannockburn. His intimate nurturing of the land on his doorstep was informed by a dozen vintages at Domaine Dujac in Burgundy, stints in the USA at Cristom, Oregon and Calera, California, and sojourns to areas such as the Shiraz and Viognier heartland of the Rhône Valley. Prescient and purposeful planting of the By Farr vineyards began in 1994 and the wines that ensued quickly established a formidable reputation. Nick Farr took charge of the range in 2009, and his comment that his father is 90% of his winemaking inspiration is borne out by the attitude, depth of character and understated finesse of the wines. But there’s no doubt that Nick is taking these wines forward with great conviction and instinct. The close-planted trio at the top of the Farr tree - GC Chardonnay, RP Pinot Noir and Tout Près - round out a truly outstanding set of single-vineyard expressions.

About

Nick Farr readily acknowledges the influence of father Gary in his winemaking and viticultural practices—however, these have been significantly enhanced by his own vast experience. While he was growing up, Nick often worked alongside his father on the family estate before a stint at Rosemount in the Hunter Valley in the late 90s. This was followed by more vintages with Gary as well as at Innisfail Vineyards in the Bannockburn area, where Nick commenced his label Farr Rising. Like his father, Nick has experience at international vineyards, including Cristom in Oregon, Au Bon Climate in California, and Domain Dujac in Burgundy.
Nick’s enthusiasm and passion for wine is captivating, and an excellent grounding in both the new and old schools of winemaking is the perfect complement to his individual tastes and ideas. “The wines we make are not mainstream—they are expressions of our vineyard, our land and what we like to drink. That is what we promise to deliver.”