2017 Scorpo 'Eocene' High Density Vineyard Pinot Noir

Scorpo

Australia / Mornington Peninsula / Scorpo

Scorpo ‘Eocene’ High Density Vineyard (9,800 vines per hectare) 2017 Pinot Noir is made from hand-picked fruit; Abel clone. It is wild yeast fermented in open stainless steel fermenters with 10% whole bunch and 90% destemmed fruit. It is pressed out after 20 days. Indigenous malolactic fermentation follows a few months after the wine is transferred to French oak barrels (20% new). The wine is bottled without fining or filtration 13 months later. Suitable for vegetarians.

March, 2019

Campbell Mattinson

The Wine Front

95+ points.

Scorpo’s wines are always impressive but this new release is particularly so. The word stunning comes straight to mind. This is a measured, moderate wine and yet it has power. It tastes of black cherries and chicory, sweet raspberry, savoury/woodsy herbs, dark chocolate and cedarwood. It carries a fair clip of oak but both the fruit and the tannin have such force to them; the flavours stride through the palate as if on a mission. It’s a striking wine, composed, shot with woodsmoke and mineral, persistent plus. They’ve grown a wine and a half here.

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About Scorpo

Scorpo has for some time sat comfortably within the highest rank of Australian cool-climate winegrowers, quietly composing excellent wines and steadily raising the bar year upon year. The planning, planting, nurturing and honing of the vineyard absorb the attention of trained horticulturist and landscape architect Paul Scorpo. The process of perfecting the site continues, with closer plantings and more precise clonal selections the latest developments. The vineyard rolls over red/brown, clay-rich soils derived from tertiary Eocene volcanics dating back about 40 million years. The vines are planted at an altitude of between 70 and 100m on a north- to northeast-facing slope with a 10% gradient. It’s a brilliant suntrap with ideal drainage to slowly grow and ripen grapes. The celebrated Pinot Gris is planted both here and on the other side of the ridge - the southwest-exposed slope towards Port Phillip Bay. The wines are consistently imbued with nuance, depth and texture. They are wines which - without ever raising their voice - resonate equally with the mind and senses.

About

Fine wine is in the Scorpo blood, stretching across generations and geography – from Sicily to Sardinia and now Australia. Paul has worked for over 25 years as a horticulturalist and landscape architect, and this professional and personal connection to the land has instilled the importance of care and consideration for environments at Scorpo Wines. The Scorpo family has a strong connection to their vineyard – the unique land, soil and climate are what enable them to produce distinctive wines with a sense of place. Paul and wife Caroline searched for four years to find the ideal site for their vineyard. Having extensively researched the Mornington Peninsula’s cool, maritime microclimates, they realised that this area was the perfect place for their project. Now this family is making the most of this heritage by growing premium grapes to express their beloved pocket of the peninsula.