Giant Steps Wombat Creek 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.

"Light, bright crimson-purple; red flowers and fruits with a continuous whole bunch-shot text of savoury, earthy, foresty notes threaded through the red fruits."  James Halliday

The Wombat Creek Vineyard is located at Gladysdale in the upper Yarra Valley. It was planted in 1988 with the intention of producing base wine for sparkling production but over the years has been gradually transitioned to Chardonnay and Pinot Noir for table wine. At 410 metres, is the highest altitude vineyard in the Yarra Valley, making it an ideal location for the production of extreme cool climate wines. The underlying red, ferrous based volcanic soil and rock produce a distinctively soft yet long and firm palate that contrasts with the finer palates seen from the nearby Applejack Vineyard (basalt based volcanic). The 16 hectare Wombat Creek Vineyard, owned by Hand Picked Wines, is located on a north-east-facing slope and is planted solely with the MV6 clone.

Expert reviews

"Gladysdale vineyard, originally for sparkling though the clone is MV6. Some whole bunch in the mix too. One of the more mature vineyards in the Yarra, early 1980s planting. Wombat Creek sounds like something off a 1980s Australian soap opera.

Pretty, voluminous perfume, loaded with sweet red berry fruits, spiked with green herbs, undergrowth, briar, touch of truffle/mushroom. Silky in the palate, great volume of flavour, squeakiness through the finish, mouth-watering too. Has good concentration, mouth perfume even, floats through its long finish. Superb wine, delicious drinking. Drink: 2018-2027+."  Mike Bennie, The Wine Front - 95 points

"From the Upper Yarra Valley (the highest altitude vineyard in the Yarra Valley), 20% whole bunches on the base of the vat, the remainder destemmed on top, minimal plunging thus maximum carbonic maceration, 9 months maturation, gravity bottled. Like all the Giant Steps Pinots, not fined or filtered. Light, bright crimson-purple; red flowers and fruits with a continuous whole bunch-shot text of savoury, earthy, foresty notes threaded through the red fruits."  James Halliday, Halliday Wine Companion - 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.