{"title":"AUSTRALIA","description":"\u003cp\u003eWines of Australia\u003c\/p\u003e","products":[{"product_id":"circle-of-fifths-pinot-noir-yarra-valley","title":"Circle of Fifths Pinot Noir, Yarra Valley","description":"\u003cp\u003eHISTORY  \u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003eLocated in Victoria’s Yarra Valley, Giant Steps is recognized as a global benchmark for cool climate Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. The winery was established in 1998, one year after founder Phil Sexton arrived in the Yarra Valley in search of ideal sites to produce Chardonnay and Pinot Noir of purity and finesse. Enlisting the help of Chief Winemaker Steve Flamsteed who joined the winery in 2003, the two set to create a range of wines that personify the Yarra Valley. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eToday, under General Manager and Head Winemaker Melanie Chester, the winery is regarded as one of the most progressive in Australia and is recognized globally for its pursuit of site expression. The wines are among the most anticipated releases from Australia and considered benchmarks for the Yarra Valley.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eBlended exclusively from our single sites in similar proportions, Circle of Fifths wines are made up of the batches that are not chosen for the Single Vineyard wines from that year. They capture the strengths of our unique sites into one wine, coming together to tell a new story.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p3\"\u003e“Where the Single Vineyard wines are the pure tones of each vineyard, Circle of Fifths is the chord.” -Melanie Chester\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eVINEYARDS \u0026amp; WINEMAKING  At Giant Steps, we hand pick 100% of our fruit and fastidiously hand sorted in the vineyard. Pinot Noir has one of two processing pathways at Giant Steps - either fermented semi carbonic with 100% whole bunch or destemmed and fermented with whole berries. When the fruit arrives at the winery we determine which direction to take the parcel depending on clone, vineyard, stem ripeness and flavour. Our whole bunch batches are fermented warm with minimal mixing for 14 days. The destemmed whole berry parcels are cold soaked for 3 days before we allow them to warm up and start fermentation naturally. All of our cap management is done using gravity drain and returns, allowing for gentle extraction before pressing. Each parcel is the transferred by gravity to French oak Barriques for malolactic fermentation and is kept on those lees for the duration of its maturation. The parcels are blended together in Spring before bottling in December. The 2024 Circle of Fifths blend is 42% whole bunch parcels and 15% new French oak. This wine is bottled by gravity without fining or filtration.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eTASTING NOTES  The 2024 vintage was a more classic Yarra season. A cool start to Spring and ideal flowering conditions led to good fruit set and moderate yields. December was cool and mild, with significant rainfall at New Years and during the first week of January, giving the vines a good drink leading into the heat of February. Mid to late February was drier and warmer than is common in the Yarra, leading to great ripening conditions with no disease pressure and quite a fast vintage. In 2024, all of our Pinot and Chardonnay was ready in quick succession, leading to a compressed harvest - with the whole valley picked in the space of 3 weeks (where it normally spreads across 6 weeks). An exciting ride for our team, but ultimately giving us wines with great flavour, bright acidity and balance.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"GIANT STEPS","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":52254921097447,"sku":null,"price":65.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0764\/7218\/9159\/files\/kate_march-11_782a724d-27de-4e80-8497-0cd7ff245839.jpg?v=1782505782"},{"product_id":"sexton-vineyard-pinot-noir-yarra-valley","title":"Sexton Vineyard, Pinot Noir, Yarra Valley","description":"\u003cp\u003eHISTORY  \u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003eLocated in Victoria’s Yarra Valley, Giant Steps is recognized as a global benchmark for cool climate Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. The winery was established in 1998, one year after founder Phil Sexton arrived in the Yarra Valley in search of ideal sites to produce Chardonnay and Pinot Noir of purity and finesse. Enlisting the help of Chief Winemaker Steve Flamsteed who joined the winery in 2003, the two set to create a range of wines that personify the Yarra Valley. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eToday, under General Manager and Head Winemaker Melanie Chester, the winery is regarded as one of the most progressive in Australia and is recognized globally for its pursuit of site expression. The wines are among the most anticipated releases from Australia and considered benchmarks for the Yarra Valley.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eVINEYARDS \u0026amp; WINEMAKING Located on the steep slopes of the Warramate Ranges, the Sexton Vineyard is in one of the most revered pockets of the Valley. Being well up the Range’s north-facing slopes, topsoil is thin and root systems have established themselves in shallow gravelly loams above a tough, rocky clay base. Bunch yields set naturally low in this environment, resulting in intensely flavoured fruit with high skin to juice ratio. The clonal selection of Pinot Noir off this site includes the G5V15 clone, which responds well to the warmer conditions and sunlight exposure to produce juicy and plush wines. The Pinot Noir produced from Sexton have a lovely texture, with dark cherries and plums, sweet spice notes and youthful tannins.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan class=\"s1\"\u003e \u003c\/span\u003eElevation: 130 - 210 metres\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSoil Type: Grey clay loam over granite \/ ironstone.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAspect: North facing slopes\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSize: 30 Hectares\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan class=\"s1\"\u003e \u003c\/span\u003eClones: MV6, G5V15, Pommard, 114\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eHandpicked, fermented in a combination of small oak fermenters and stainless-steel open vats.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe MV6 parcels were fermented as whole bunches, while the remaining clones were destemmed to whole berries and cold soaked for four days before fermentation started.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe resulting blend is 21% whole bunch fermented.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAll parcels were matured in French oak – 25% new, 75% seasoned – for 10 months in 225L barriques predominately Taransaud and Dargaud \u0026amp; Jaeglé.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe wine was not moved and kept in contact with its lees before blending in December. Bottled by gravity. No fining. No filtration.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eTASTING NOTES  2023 was a small, high-quality vintage in the Yarra Valley. The season was defined by a cool spring, a mild growing season, cool nights, and medium to high rainfall. 2023 was one of the coolest and latest harvests on record, with our first pick starting two and a half weeks later than the previous average. The grapes in 2023 had lovely fruit concentration with bright natural acidities.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003eThe Pinot Noir produced from Sexton have a lovely texture, with dark cherries and plums, sweet spice notes and youthful tannins\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"GIANT STEPS","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":52254921294055,"sku":null,"price":95.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0764\/7218\/9159\/files\/kate_march-12_6b836db8-3526-4874-a8d6-a1b1458a97c6.jpg?v=1782506298"}],"url":"https:\/\/littleinternationalwineshop.com\/collections\/australia.oembed","provider":"Little International Wine Shop","version":"1.0","type":"link"}