Chatto Seven Inch Pinot Noir 2023

We’re back in Huon, less than a kilometre down the road from Jim’s property and at a vineyard overlooking Seven Inch Beach. It’s a properly cold site, even by southern Tasmanian standards. I thought I was picking up some stalky notes which I immediately attributed to whole bunch fermentation. Turns out that there is zero whole bunch in this wine, deliberately, because the site is surrounded by Blue Gums which lend a herbal freshness and white pepper spice profile, making whole bunch excessive (if it were to be used). The wine here is medium bodied and nice balance of cherry pip and plum flavours, alongside the spice and chew already mentioned. There’s a freshness and youthful feel to this and it’s always a favourite in the Chatto range. – Ches Cook, FWC.