2023 Medhurst Estate Pinot Noir | 95 Point Yarra Valley Pinot Noir

🏆 95 POINTS | MEDHURST ESTATE | SERIOUS YARRA VALLEY PINOT NOIR

Medhurst needs to be on the radar of serious Yarra Valley Pinot Noir drinkers.

It's bright, perfumed, energetic and beautifully detailed. Exactly what great Yarra Valley Pinot should be.

95 Points – Halliday Wine Companion

Yarra Valley, Victoria

RRP $57.50 a bottle

Classic Yarra Valley Pinot Noir – 95 Points and Under $60

This is exactly why Medhurst needs to be on the radar of serious Yarra Valley Pinot Noir drinkers.

The 2023 Medhurst Estate Pinot Noir received an outstanding 95 points from Halliday Wine Companion, combining beautiful red-fruited perfume with spice, earth, vibrant acidity and wonderfully fine tannins.

And there's a serious vineyard story underneath it.

The wine is made entirely from the MV6 Pinot Noir clone, hand-picked from two contrasting blocks of Medhurst's Gruyere estate vineyard. Around 10% whole bunches were included in the final wine, before maturation for nine months in French oak, with 30% new barrels.

At RRP $57.50, this is a beautifully made, genuine estate-grown Yarra Pinot that seriously over-delivers.

95 Points – Halliday Wine Companion

95 Points – Philip Rich, Halliday Wine Companion

That's an impressive result at this price.

But it's the style of the wine that's particularly appealing.

This isn't dark, extracted Pinot Noir.

It's bright, perfumed, energetic and beautifully detailed.

Exactly what great Yarra Valley Pinot should be.

Tasting Notes

The 2023 is wonderfully aromatic and vibrant, showing layers of:

• Cranberry
• Redcurrant
• Raspberry
• Red cherry
• Macerated strawberry
• Blood orange
• Fresh plum
• Rosehip
• Red florals
• Exotic spice
• Baked earth
• Fine French oak

Medhurst's own tasting note describes fresh raspberry, blood orange, plum and rosehip aromatics before delicate cherry and macerated strawberry emerge on the palate alongside spice and baked earth.

The tannins are fine and silky, while bright acidity runs through the wine and keeps everything fresh.

Then comes the finish.

Powerful, persistent and long.

There's delicacy here—but don't mistake delicacy for a lack of intensity.

100% MV6 Pinot Noir

Here's something Pinot lovers will appreciate.

The 2023 Medhurst Estate Pinot Noir is entirely MV6.

MV6 is one of Australia's most important Pinot Noir clones and has played a significant role in many of the country's great Pinot vineyards.

But Medhurst makes the story even more interesting by blending fruit from two different parts of the estate.

B Block – 75%

North-facing, with gravelly, hungry duplex clay soils.

This makes up the majority of the blend.

C Block – 25%

A cooler, south-facing block with loamy brown soils.

Those two blocks bring different personalities to the finished wine.

One provides intensity and drive.

The other contributes freshness and perfume.

Together, they create a much more complete expression of the estate.

10% Whole Bunch + French Oak

The winemaking is beautifully judged.

The fruit was:

Hand-picked
Sourced from two estate blocks
Approximately 10% whole bunch in the final blend
Matured nine months in French oak
30% new oak

That's exactly the sort of approach I want to see with premium Pinot Noir.

There's enough whole bunch to contribute aromatic lift, spice and structure without turning the wine excessively herbal.

And there's enough new French oak to build complexity without overwhelming Pinot Noir's delicate fruit.

The vineyard stays in control.

2023 – The Fourth Consecutive Cool Vintage

The vintage story is particularly interesting.

Medhurst describes 2023 as the fourth cool season in a row, following the La Niña-influenced conditions of 2020–2023.

October through December brought extreme rain and high humidity, placing considerable pressure on the vineyard team.

But conditions improved dramatically from January onwards, with welcome dry periods carrying through harvest. Fruit was ultimately picked between 10 March and 4 April.

The result?

Elegant wines with beautiful natural freshness.

And Pinot Noir is exactly the variety that can shine under those cooler conditions.

Pinot Noir Built Around Perfume

One of the things I particularly like about the 2023 is the aromatic profile.

This isn't simply:

Cherry + oak + tannin.

There's much more going on.

You get cranberry, redcurrant, raspberry and strawberry, but then the wine moves into rosehip, florals, blood orange, spice and earth.

That's what separates really good Pinot Noir from simple fruity Pinot.

The best examples evolve constantly in the glass.

Fruit becomes floral.

Floral becomes spice.

Spice becomes earth.

And then you go back for another smell and find something different again.

Medhurst Is Becoming a Serious Pinot Noir Producer

Medhurst's reputation across the Yarra Valley is growing for good reason.

Halliday Wine Companion notes that the estate focuses on small-batch production, with head winemaker Rohan Smith bringing a strong emphasis on precision and respect for vineyard site.

And look at the Pinot Noir quality across the Medhurst range:

2023 Estate Pinot Noir – 95 Points Halliday

2021 Reserve Pinot Noir – 97 Points Halliday

That's an impressive one-two punch.

The Estate wine gives you the purity and personality of the vineyard at $57.50, while the Reserve takes the best parcels into another level of concentration and complexity.

Estate vs Reserve Pinot Noir

If you're deciding between the two Medhurst Pinots:

2023 Estate Pinot Noir – $57.50

Bright • Perfumed • Red-fruited • Spicy • Silky • Energetic

2021 Reserve Pinot Noir – $112.50

Deeper • More structured • Powerful • Complex • Cellar-worthy

The Estate Pinot is the wine I'd buy by the half-dozen.

It's serious enough for the cellar but immediately enjoyable enough that you don't need an excuse to open one.

And that's a great place for Pinot Noir to sit.

Food Pairings

Medhurst recommends the 2023 Pinot Noir with Sichuan crispy duck and plum sauce.

That sounds absolutely brilliant.

I'd also try it with:

• Peking duck
• Roast duck
• Roast chicken
• Pork belly
• Mushroom risotto
• Salmon
• Tuna
• Beef tartare
• Charcuterie
• Soft cheeses

The combination of red fruit, blood orange, spice and earth makes this particularly versatile.

Serve it slightly cool at around 14–16°C in a large Burgundy glass.

Drinking & Cellaring

This is delicious now, but there's absolutely no hurry.

Medhurst gives the wine 5–8 years of cellaring potential, while Halliday's Philip Rich suggested drinking through 2032.

Drink now–2032+.

Young, you'll get all that gorgeous cranberry, raspberry, cherry, rosehip and spice.

With age, expect more:

Dried flowers • Forest floor • Mushroom • Earth • Savoury spice

to emerge.

I'd happily drink some now and put the rest away.

Why We Love It

This is a sweet spot wine in the Medhurst range.

Look at what you're getting:

95 Points – Halliday Wine Companion
100% MV6 Pinot Noir
Estate-grown fruit
Two individual vineyard blocks
Hand-picked
10% whole bunch
9 months French oak
30% new oak
13% alcohol

And the RRP?

$57.50.

That's what makes this so compelling.

You're getting serious Yarra Valley Pinot Noir without moving into the $100–$150 territory occupied by many of the region's top wines.

Most importantly, it tastes like Pinot Noir should.

Cranberry. Redcurrant. Raspberry. Cherry. Rosehip. Blood orange. Florals. Spice. Earth. Silky tannins.

If you love the elegance and perfume of Yarra Yering, Giant Steps, Coldstream Hills, Oakridge or other top Yarra Valley Pinot Noir, Medhurst deserves a place on your radar.

95 Halliday points. Estate-grown MV6. $57.50 RRP. The 2023 Medhurst Estate Pinot Noir is seriously good buying.