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Description
The 2023 vintage marks a confident step forward for Denton’s top Pinot Noir parcel - 21-year-old, close-planted MV6 vines rooted deep into the granite on the northeast slope of View Hill. This is the site’s most powerful Pinot block, but the hallmark Denton finesse is still there, shaped by cool mornings and shelter from the harsh afternoon sun.
Picked mid-March in a long, steady ripening season, the fruit was fermented wild with 10% whole bunches, then matured for 10 months in French oak - around a third of which was new. It’s an unforced, well-judged wine that lets the vineyard lead. Kirilly Gordon’s detail-focused winemaking builds on the site’s natural structure with a delicate hand, and it shows.
With Denton in a new phase under Scott Bishop’s ownership, and a sharp team in the vineyard and cellar, this is a producer hitting its stride - and the results are exciting.
95 points
"A little reduction, which quickly blows off to reveal aromas of wild strawberries, damson plums, a little rose petal and subtle hints of cinnamon and nutmeg. There’s good intensity on the medium-bodied palate together with fine but firm tannins. This will only get better over the next four to six years, if not longer."
- Philip Rich (Halliday Wine Companion)
