2016 By Farr Sangreal Pinot Noir

By Farr

Australia / Geelong / By Farr

The Sangreal Vineyard is the oldest planting (1994) on a north-facing slope of red ironstone on the surface going to limestone to bluestone below. The rows run north to south, gaining full sun exposure throughout the day and resulting in prettier, more perfumed wines. It’s always the first vineyard to be harvested.
Sangreal is consistently made with 60 to 70% whole bunch and aged in new oak. It is fermented in a five-tonne oak barrel with an open-top fermenter, and cold soaked for four days before a natural fermentation of seven to nine days. Once the cap falls, the tank is pressed. The wine is racked only once after malolactic fermentation, then sulphured and bottled, the entire process taking a total of 18 months. The wine is unfined and unfiltered in order to retain its natural flavour and bouquet. Sangreal is the most seamless and perfumed of the three single-vineyard Pinots.

Prettiness as you’d expect, but perhaps a little more brooding than Farrside at this time, with roast root vegetable notes along with red fruit. In fact lots of savoury stuff going on – mineral and spice, oak again an aristocratic backing. Then masses of fruit on the tongue, and a little more shape/clearer line than Farrside, albeit slightly less integrated in terms of flavour right now. Salty, ferrous bloodiness hits the sides of the mouth through the back palate. Length is really pretty and impressive, very mouthwatering. – Ed Merrison, CellarHand

August, 2018

James Halliday

Halliday Wine Companion

97 points

Always made with 50-70% whole bunches and 60-70% new oak maturation for 18 months. While the power of the wine is typical Farr, this vintage bestows a measure of linearity – a sinuous line to the palate that links and loops around the complex flavours of forest floor/spice and wild strawberry.

November, 2018

Campbell Mattinson

The Wine Front

96 points

Wow. This wine is tight and sinewy and yet it has the might of the self-powered. Thus spoke Zarathustra. It’s braided with herbs, stems, peppers, cedar, woodsmoke and cherry plum. It has the pull of certainty. Come with me, the wine says as it rests in the glass. Definitely. How high. At dawn we ride. Buy.

August, 2018

Nick Stock

jamessuckling.com

94 points

Exotic and complex layers of fragrant violets and red flowers, as well as sappy, savoury and woody spices and red-cherry pastry notes. This is complex as always. The palate is expansive and intense with assertive tannins and silky fruit flavours. A terrific, focused and powerful finish. Best from 2022.

Standard Bottle Out of Stock

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.”