2023 Stefano Lubiana Ruscello Single-Block Pinot Noir

The Ruscello vineyard is planted at elevations of 35 to 50 metres on a geology of grey silty gravel over porous gravelly clay. The vines are over 30 years old, making them the oldest of the three Single Block Pinot Noir sites. The block borders the ‘little stream’ that runs through the vineyard, and the trees around this water source protect the Ruscello block from the occasionally strong winds. The block includes a mixture of clones — MV6, 2051 and Moorilla — and yields are kept low at less than 4 tonnes per hectare.

The grapes are 100% hand-picked and processed immediately to preserve their integrity and purity. The fruit undergoes wild fermentation in open-top fermenters for up to 18 days, with a balanced proportion of whole bunches (50% in the 2023 vintage). After fermentation, the wine is pressed, then gravity-fed into a mixture of second- and third-fill 228-litre French oak barriques in our underground cellar, where it matures for 12 months. The wine remains in these conditions until it is transferred to tank before bottling. Bottled under natural cork in June 2024, our premium Single Block Pinot Noirs mature in bottle under cork for over a year before release.

The 2023 Ruscello Pinot Noir has a generous nose of dark cherry, roasted strawberry and violets. The palate is layered with supple red fruits, blood plum, morello cherry and dark pomegranate. This wine has good length, bright acidity and finishes with chalky tannins. Of the three Single Block Pinot Noirs, the Ruscello typically offers more immediate appeal. It can be enjoyed in its youth if decanted, or cellared for long-term ageing over 10 to 15 years. – Steve & Monique Lubiana