Giant Steps Sexton Vineyard Pinot Noir 2017

Giant Steps is recognized as a global benchmark for cool climate Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. The winery was established in 1998, one year after founder Phil Sexton arrived in the Yarra Valley in search of ideal sites to produce Chardonnay and Pinot Noir of purity and finesse. The Giant Steps Single Vineyard range is produced from the most site-expressive fruit off the best vineyards in great years.

"Ripe cherry, red berry, faint meatiness, rose hip tea. Sets itself off on a darker, fuller path for pinot. Plush in the palate, dark chocolate and amaro, red berries, fine bitterness to finish with a smudge more bitter-dark chocolate. Mouthwatering, hunger-setting stuff. Fuller figured here. Breathy even. Nice though. Real nice. The 'generous one'."  Mike Bennie 

The Sexton Vineyard is located at Gruyere in the Lower Yarra Valley and was planted in 1997. The 30 hectare vineyard is at an elevation of 130-210 metres, has north facing slopes on grey clay soils and is planted to MV6, G5V15, POM5 and D clones.

The fruit for the 2017 Giant Steps Sexton Vineyard Pinot Noir was hand picked and fermentation occurs in 4000L open oak vats and 5000L open fermenters.  It sees 11 months in used (75%) and new (25%) French Oak with no filtration at bottling. 

Expert reviews

"Deliciously perfumed with pomegranate, jasmine, roses, cherries and blood oranges, as well as pink grapefruit. The spices here are entrancing. Full of complex and savory charm, it has a very impressive array of leaves and herbs too. The palate delivers rich brambly-fruit flavors amid assertive, long and convincing tannins, which hold impressive length. Tempting now, but it’ll be better in the next six to eight years. Drink or hold."  James Suckling, JamesSuckling.com - 96 points

"Medium to full red/purple colour. The bouquet is subdued but fresh, clean and brightly-fruited, with red and darker cherry aromas, the palate copying these precisely and adding a fine layer of soft tannins, the whole entity in impeccable balance. Delicious wine, rich and fruit-sweet, with a finish cleansed by ample supple tannins. Drink: 2018-2033."  Huon Hooke, The Real Review - 95 points

"Warmer site, about 180 metres above sea level. One of the 'classic' Giant Steps sites. Steve Flamsteed says the 2017 vintage is one of his favourites, though that's kind of a silly word. It's a very good year for his hands-off mode of winemaking, is more the point.

Ripe cherry, red berry, faint meatiness, rose hip tea. Sets itself off on a darker, fuller path for pinot. Plush in the palate, dark chocolate and amaro, red berries, fine bitterness to finish with a smudge more bitter-dark chocolate. Mouthwatering, hunger-setting stuff. Fuller figured here. Breathy even. Nice though. Real nice. The 'generous one'. Drink: 2018-2025+."  Mike Bennie, The Wine Front - 95 points

 In 1997 Phil Sexton arrived in the Yarra Valley in search of ideal sites to produce Chardonnay and Pinot Noir of purity and finesse. He was looking for sites with altitude, aged soils, slopes of exposure, regular rainfall and cool to cold nighttime temperatures and a gentle breeze off the protecting mountain ranges. The Giant Steps winery was established one year later in 1998.

The focus is on the production of high-quality, single-vineyard wines. The Giant Steps Single Vineyard range is produced from the most site-expressive fruit off the best vineyards in great years. Each single vineyard wine tells a story about the vineyard, vintage and variety. Production of these wines is very limited with some vineyards producing as little as 200 cases.

The single vineyards comprise the Sexton Vineyard in the Lower Yarra and the Applejack Vineyard in the Upper Yarra (both owned by Giant Steps), the Tarraford Vineyard in the Lower Yarra under long-term lease, the Primavera Vineyard in the Upper Yarra under long-term supervised contract and the Wombat Creek Vineyard owned by Hand Picked Wines. In addition, Giant Steps produce a Yarra Valley range of wines made from handpicked fruit from their estate vineyards. They are highly expressive wines, true to the regional characteristics of the Yarra Valley. 

The Giant Steps wines have received global acclaim and are now recognized as a global benchmark for cool climate Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. Since 2003 Giant Steps wines have been awarded 34 trophies and over 100 gold medals at major international and domestic wine shows and has been named one of the Top 100 Wineries in the World by US Wine & Spirits Magazine for each of the last six years.

Giant Step's success is due in no small part to Steve Flamsteed, Chief Winemaker since 2003. Steve had previously worked for Leeuwin Estate (1999 – 2002) and the Hardy Wine Company at their Yarra Burn Winery in the Yarra Valley (2002 – 2003). Steve was named Gourmet Traveller Wine 'Winemaker of the Year' in 2016. "Steve Flamsteed is a man of many talents with a finely tuned palate, an instinctive flair for winemaking and fastidious attention to detail. This shows particularly in the stunning single-vineyard chardonnays and pinots of Giant Steps: distinctive wines that reflect their sites and glow with impeccable finesse."  Peter Forrestal, chairman of judges, Gourmet Traveller Wine Winemaker of the Year

Melanie Chester joined Giant Steps as Head of Winemaking and Viticulture in 2021. She came to Giant Steps from Sutton Grange Winery in Central Victoria, where she was Head Winemaker. In 2014, Melanie became the youngest ever scholar selected for The Len Evans Tutorial. In 2015, she was named Young Winemaker of the Year by Gourmet Traveller Wine magazine, and in 2018, Melanie was recognized by Young Gun of Wine as the People's Choice award winner for favourite winemaker.

Giant Steps was acquired by the Jackson Family in 2020. The Jackson Family own a vast stable of wineries in California (Napa Valley, Sonoma County, Mendocino County, Monterey County, Santa Barbara and Oregon), Australia (Yarra Valley and McLaren Vale), Chile, France, Italy and South Africa.