2023 Chatto Bird Pinot Noir

Originally planted by Dr Andrew Pirie in the late ’90s, Bird is one of those quietly iconic vineyards that has helped shape Tasmania’s Pinot story - and Jim Chatto has the good fortune of securing a small parcel of clone 114 fruit each year. From its perch in the Pipers River region of northern Tasmania, Bird brings a lifted, ethereal counterpoint to the richer, more brooding expressions in Jim’s line-up.

This is Pinot Noir that whispers rather than shouts. It floats out of the glass with red fruit, floral lift and spice, built around a featherweight frame that somehow still feels complete. There’s a fine-boned precision here - a see-through quality - that makes it as elegant as any wine in the Chatto range.

Fermented wild and raised in large-format French foudre, Bird is what Jim affectionately calls his “gateway Pinot”. Don’t mistake that for simplicity, though - this wine is quietly complex and built to reward.

95 points
"Elegant and perfumed aromas of wild raspberries, rose petals, dried herbs and wet earth… finely integrated tannins, fresh strawberries and cassia bark. Pure elegance."
- James Suckling (jamessuckling.com)

95 points
"A red-fruited, elegant expression… lovely, gentle, enchanting with red cherry, wild strawberry and red plum fruits… airy and febrile, fading with spice and herbs."
- Dave Brookes (Halliday Wine Companion)