Quealy Seventeen Rows Pinot Noir 2019

Quealy Seventeen Rows Pinot Noir is the estate's flagship Pinot Noir, made from old MV6 vines at Balnarring.

Seventeen rows of MV6 are all that survive from the 1982 planting at the Balnarring home block, which makes them some of the oldest Pinot Noir vines on the Mornington Peninsula. The family bought the property in 2003 and has worked those rows ever since; from 2019 the whole vineyard has carried organic certification. It runs down a gentle north-facing slope on shallow loam over clay. Fruit was picked on 4 March, destemmed in full with no sulphur added at all, and left to ferment wild in one-tonne pots. Only free-run went to 300-litre barriques, a third of them new, with the rest raised in equal parts one and two-year-old wood.

Old vines show here as depth more than weight: forest berries, earth and spice, silky through the middle, with crunchy acidity and a long close. Serve at 15 degrees. Roast duck, a coq au vin, or beef cheeks with mushrooms are the match.

*Every effort is made to ensure the current vintage is accurate; however, variations can occur. If you are after a specific vintage, please contact us prior to ordering.