Dexter Pinot Noir 2017

Tod Dexter purchased a vineyard site at Tuerong on the Mornington Peninsula in 1987 and planted Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. He became winemaker at Stonier and then Yabby Lake and during that period the Dexter Vineyard provided Stonier with reserve-grade fruit. Almost 20 years later, and with a wealth of experience behind him, he started his own label. What he strives for in his Pinot Noir is what he looks for in any wine he drinks - aromatics, prettiness, texture, elegance, line and length.

"Bright red/purple colour and a superbly fresh, fragrant cherry aroma, with background spices and dried herb traces. Very intense, vibrant and precise. An outstanding young pinot destined for a long and distinguished life.”  Huon Hooke

"Aromas of dark berry fruits such as blackberry, plums and cherries with background aromas of dried herbs and spices. The wine is similar to the 2013 and 2015, perhaps more powerful. The complex flavours are of blackberries, plums, spices and hints of oak. It has a soft entry with mid palate fruit sweetness and lovely texture. The finish is long with balanced acid and fine tannins. It should age very well. Matured in French Oak puncheons (20% new, 12% second use and the remainder older) for 8 months. Clones: MV6 (60%), D5V12 (40%)."  Dexter Wines

Expert reviews

"Open-fermented, 3 days cold soak, one fermenter for whole bunch fermentation (8% of the blend), the remainder destemmed, matured for 8 months in French oak (20% new). Clear crimson-purple; wastes no time in laying siege with its fruit bouquet and (in particular) palate. It's hard to decide whether it's the dark berry (black cherry and blackberry) or the savoury texture and length that are the best points of a truly outstanding pinot. 13.5% alc, screwcap. Drink to 2032."  James Halliday, Halliday Wine Companion - 97 points

"Bright red/purple colour and a superbly fresh, fragrant cherry aroma, with background spices and dried herb traces. Very intense, vibrant and precise. An outstanding young pinot destined for a long and distinguished life. Drink 2018–2030."  Huon Hooke, The Real Review – 96 points

"It's a more assertive release from Dexter, a little less delicate, but still well under the boxing weight of most pinot noir from the region. It holds its succulence and feathery tannins well, it's loaded with cherry juice and pomegranate fruit scents and flavours, it offers a sprinkle of herb n spice to taste. It's exceptionally long in flavour too. Indeed, it's a beautiful wine when you take stock of it all, and best of all, drinkability is high. A really lovely expression once more. Drink: 2018-2026."  Mike Bennie, The Wine Front - 94 points

About the winery

Tod Dexter, the man behind the Dexter label, grew up with wine. A childhood friendship with one of Melbourne's premium wine merchants, the Crittenden family, introduced him to the vast world of wine. It was then no surprise that in 1974 after working a ski season in the US, Tod ended up in the Napa Valley where he spent a seven-year apprenticeship with one of California's premium family wineries, Cakebread Cellars. During that period he met his wife Debbie, and the two of them started to toy with the idea of setting up in Australia. Back-to-back vintages at Brown Brothers in the King Valley in 1985 and '86 served as a trial.

Tod moved home to Australia in January 1987 and purchased a vineyard site at Tuerong on the Mornington Peninsula. Later that year, he planted 1.6 hectares of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. To keep the wolves from the door he became winemaker at Stonier and over the next ten years, he and Brian Stonier grew the company to become one of Australia's premium producers of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. During this decade Tod leased his vineyard to Stonier and the Dexter vineyard provided them with reserve-grade fruit.

Dexter left Stonier in 2003 to take the reins at Yabby Lake, whose vineyards are a stone's throw from his own. In 2006 he turned 50. A friend told him if he didn't do his own thing now, it'd never happen. So almost 20 years after the first vines in the Dexter vineyard were planted, and with a wealth of experience behind him, Dexter Wines was born. His vineyard is planted to 4 hectares of Pinot Noir and 3.1 hectares of Chardonnay and he makes roughly the same quantity of each.