2022 Holyman Project X Pinot Noir

If you like your Pinot with lots of whole-bunch characters, then the Holyman Project X is just the wine for you.

For reasons known only to the Stoney Rise team, the block from which they source the grapes for this wine is called 'Boris'. Only fully ripe bunches with well-lignified stalks (fully ripe with no greenness still present) are picked, with 100% whole bunch used in the fermentation, as well as 100% new oak. Blimey.

As expected, this is a big and powerful but also elegant Pinot, with its stalky characters sitting alongside blackberry, boysenberry, cherry, spice, and violets. It will need a lot more time to truly reveal itself, so that the grippy tannins can settle down, but it's already looking just lovely.

95 points
"Bright ruby with precise, wild-eyed aromas of raspberry, wild strawberry and red cherry, as well as spice, amaro herbs, dried meats, turned earth, leaf litter, struck flint and stone. Meaty and super stony and savoury with a long, complex draw on the finish and a beautiful expression of pure cherry and red, plummy fruits."
- Dave Brookes (Halliday Wine Companion)

95 points & Top 100 Wines of 2024
"100% whole bunch fermentation, 100% new oak. It’s unashamedly visceral, leaning boldly into pinot’s dark and broody elements. If you don’t love it, you’ll hate it. And that’s just fine with Joe."
- Nick Ryan (The Weekend Australian)