Dalrymple Vineyards Pinot Noir, Tasmania

Description

Dalrymple Vineyards Pinot Noir is a red wine, 100% Pinot Noir sourced from Dalrymple’s vineyards located in Pipers River and Coal River Valley as well as from a vineyard in Ouse. Each site and block is unique with distinctive individual terroirs, building complexity into the final blend.

Dalrymple Vineyards was founded in 1987 by Bertel and Anne Sundstrup who travelled to France to find inspiration and guidance for growing cool climate Pinot Noir back in Tasmania. After searching for the best site, the Sundstrups planted their vineyards on the sloping hills overlooking the Bass Strait, the stretch of water that separates Tasmania from the mainland. The 11 hectare estate was purchased by the Hill-Smith Family Vineyards in December 2007. The Hill-Smith family have been at the forefront of the Australian wine industry since 1849 when Samuel Smith established Yalumba. Proprietor Robin Hill-Smith has been investing in new regions, including Tasmania, and the vineyards have benefited from replanting with clonal material from the Yalumba Nursery to ensure the vineyard continues to produce some of Australia’s finest cool climate Pinot Noir and Chardonnay.

Dalrymple Pinot Noir is a blend of Pinot Noir parcels from estate fruit grown at the Pipers River Vineyard in the Coal River Valley with some fruit from growers at Ouse. Each of these sites is unique with distinctive individual terroirs, building complexity into the final wine blend. Each of the different parcels of fruit from across the vineyard sites was picked on their merit. Fermentation started after 2-3 days with the plunging of the cap to extract colour and tannin from the skins. The wine was pressed after fermentation and settled before being placed into French oak barriques for 11 months where malolactic fermentation took place, before filtration and bottling.

The winemaker at Dalrymple is Peter Caldwell. He was born into a sheep-farming family but caught the grape bug early. He went to the mainland the study at the famous Roseworthy Agricultural College in South Australia before travelling the world to make vintages in Burgundy, Bordeaux, California and New Zealand. Pinot Noir is his passion.