Giant Steps LDR Pinot Noir Syrah 2024

Giant Steps Wines is a renowned winery that was established in 1997 in the Yarra Valley. The winery has built a reputation for producing expressive wines with purity and finesse. The wines are a direct reflection of their individual vineyard sites, which are located across the Yarra Valley from Tarrawarra to Gladysdale. The founder of Giant Steps Wines, Phil Sexton, is a wine industry pioneer who ventured from Margaret River to Yarra Valley in search of the ideal site to cultivate Chardonnay and Pinot Noir of purity and finesse. Phil found his holy grail near Gruyere in the Sexton vineyard, which he planted in 1997 on the steep slopes of the Warramate Ranges. Being a mad jazz fan, Phil named the winery after John Coltrane’s album and fitting metaphor “Giant Steps.” In 2003, Winemaker Steve Flamsteed joined the team, and the two set about producing a range of iconic Pinot Noirs and Chardonnays that express a profound sense of place from six finite sites in Yarra Valley. The winery's Head of Winemaking and Viticulture, Melanie Chester, who joined the team in 2021, is committed to honoring the expressions and diversity of its single sites. This means keeping the winemaking tight and transparent so that the diversity of the site is what you taste. “The wines will never look the same because the vineyards continue to change,” she explains, “but we are committed to ensuring that the quality will be the same if not better.” For more than 20 years, Giant Steps has been advancing Australia’s reputation for cool-climate Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. The Single vineyard range is sourced from each of the six vineyard sites around the Valley, using the most site-expressive fruit from that year’s vintage. The winery's loyal followers have played a significant role in the success of the winery.

The 2024 vintage growing season begun with ideal flowering conditions. Ultimately, we had good fruit set which formed into moderate yields. Cool and mild through December, one of the highest rainfalls in January on record followed (150mm), then heat and fast maturity. By February the Indian summer pattern that is common in the Yarra Valley had returned. Ideal growing conditions – warm and dry with little disease pressure – resulted in wines with great acidity, balance, and flavour.

Fruit for the LDR is from both the Sexton and Tarraford Vineyards and was 100% hand-picked. Fermented in small open vats with indigenous yeasts. The Syrah fermented using 100% whole bunch carbonic maceration. The Pinot Noir was destemmed and cold soaked for 4 days, and then fermented as whole berries. 6 months maturation in a combination of large format 2000lt and small format (225Lt +500Lt) French oak barrels. Bottled by gravity. No fining. No filtration.

Enjoy with Hibachi char-grilled octopus with a squeeze of lemon. Manchego cheese and green olive tapenade. Wood fired pizza. Miso eggplant, baked polenta with salsa verde. Pork rilletes and cornichons. - Melanie Chester, Winemaker.

The Finer Details
Style - Red Wine
Varietal - Pinot Noir, Shiraz
Country - Australia
Region - Yarra Valley, Victoria
Vintage - 2024
Bottle Size - 750ml
ABV - 13%