West Cape Howe Pinot Noir 2023
The Wine
We have a number of sites from which to select our Pinot Noir grapes; for the ’23 release it is mostly from our Langton & Karri Oak vineyards (Mt Barker) with a small amount from Porongurup, a slightly cooler site. All are planted to a number of clones and, with the vines now reaching 20+ years of maturity, they are proving well suited to the cooler aspects within these vineyards.
The 2023 season was generally a little cooler than previous but with Pinot being the earliest red to ripen, there was no issue getting the fruit to optimum ripeness and flavour.
This is a well weighted Pinot with loads of generous, bright, sweet fruit flavours. The palate is silky, rich and robust with exotic red berry characters, eg cranberries and pomegranate. These delicious fruit flavours are nicely balanced by the gently drying tannins and there’s the subtle influence from the oak maturation (20% in new French oak).
Delicious to enjoy now or cellar for a couple of years for extra bottle age complexity.
Gavin Berry WCH
The Details
Variety - Pinot Noir
Country - Australia
Region - West Australia
Sub Region - Mount Barker
Extra - Screwcap
Year - 2023
Volume - 750ml
About the Wine Maker 
Arfion's Dave 'Bro' Mackintosh has been crafting wines under this second label since 2019, putting it on the map as an unparalleled value-for-money option. He takes fruit from the Upper and Lower parts of the Yarra Valley for this project, aiming to express the purity of the Yarra through these small batch wines.
