Location & Aspect: The highest categories of wine quality in our hierarchy are wines denoted Single Site or single vineyard. This status is reserved for special parcels of wine sourced specifically from single sites renowned for the quality of its fruit. In the case of pinot noir there are two sites situated on the northern faces of the vine slopes at Pipers Brook. "The Lyre" block takes its name from the type of trellising employed. The wines are produced from exceptionally low fruit yields, which add richness, complexity and longevity to the wines.

Season: The 2005 season was characterized by almost perfect conditions for flowering and fruit set followed by a mild summer ripening season. As a result our pinot noir achieved good flavors ripeness a few weeks later than normal.

Soil: The grapes were grown on the ferrosol (red volcanic) soils of the Pipers Brook region in northern Tasmania, a soil that has excellent water holding capacity, offering a steady supply of moisture and nourishment to the vines throughout the growing season.

Viticulture: The vines are meticulously hand-tended and grown, the naturally low cropping vines are well balanced and the dappled light fruit exposure ensure that the ripening bunches achieve full ripeness and well-balanced flavors and fine tannins, whilst maintaining the rich concentrated berry fruit flavors.

Winemaking: The grapes were hand harvested in mid-April from grapes grown on lyre trellises, a trellising system designed to optimise grape ripening in cool regions. The grapes were transported to the winery at Pipers Brook where they were sorted, de-stemmed and crushed; the grapes are then fermented in small open vats and macerated on skins for up to 15 days. The wine was then aged in fine French oak barrels in our cool underground cellars for 15 months prior to bottling in late June 2006

Tasting Notes

Colour: Brilliant, eye of partridge, with a delicate cherry, purple hew

Bouquet: Mesmeric on the nose exuding ripe juicy pinot noir scents of violets, elderberries, cranberries and sweet wild cherries, hints of dark chocolate aromas all supported by the soft secondary tones of earthy forest floor and gamely pâté de foie meats.

Palate: A complex array of wild berry fruits with the distinctive flavours of Açaí and cranberries with tones of fruitcake spice. The mouth feel is lush and generous, glycerol round and well supported by the finely integrated French oak and long plush tannins that flow through on the finish.

Food Suggestions: The complex characteristics in this wine allow it to match with a variety of dishes, from washed rind cheeses, to duck breast with cassis sauce, Boeuf Bourguignon and gamey dishes such as rabbit with tomatoes and pancetta.