Helen's Hill Estate Long Walk Single Vineyard Pinot Noir 2010

"Strong, clear red-purple; estate-grown MV6, 113 and 114 clone grapes have come together in a top vintage to provide a pinot that has both depth and length to its display of dark plum and cherry fruit, French oak having its say, as do fine tannins - all in tune with each other."  James Halliday, Halliday Wine Companion - 94 points

"We headed into this tasting expecting to be presented with the best examples of Pinot ever made in Australia, vintage fluctuations aside. We asked producers to send in wines that they were currently selling at their cellar door, so most of the wines were the 2010 vintage with the oldest being 2008. The Panel was presented with 59 wines and, as expected, most of these were from the aforementioned regions: the Yarra Valley, Mornington and Tasmania, as well as Geelong and the Bellarine Peninsula.

As expected, Pinots from the cooler climates dominated the tasting. Of the top 20, eight were from the Yarra Valley, five each from Tasmania and the Mornington Peninsula, while Gippsland and Geelong were also represented. Each of these areas showed distinct regional characters. Furthermore, the variance of sub-sites within regions was reflected in the subtle differences between the 2010 vintage of the Yarra, such as the lovely feminine feel of the Helen's Hill, compared with the stalky briar lift of the Yering Station and the leafy herbaceousness of the Punt Road.

2010 Helen's Hill: Loved by the Panel for its subtleness and texture. Ripe, floral and fruit driven with a bright strawberry fruit core on the mid palate, plush and juicy on the back palate. Beautifully balanced with fine tannins and divine smoky oak, superb length and brightness."  Wine Selectors Tasting Panel and Bill Downie – Ranked 2^nd out of 59 pinot noirs

In 1997, the Nalder and McIntosh families purchased a 150 acre property in Coldstream with some of the finest views of the Yarra Valley and replanted the existing orchard as a vineyard. Today 110 acres are under vine.

The story of Helen's Hill began long before a vine was ever planted in Coldstream. It's a story of two families with a shared love of farming and wine. Having been dragged away from the land to careers in medicine and finance, they always yearned to return to a life they loved. So when they inspected a property now known as Helen's Hill Estate in 1996, they decided it was too good of an opportunity to pass up.

The former owner John Frazer, a businessman working in Collins Street, proposed marriage in the 1950s to a young lady by the name of Helen. Helen agreed but on one condition; John had to buy a farm as Helen longed for a life on the land. John bought land in the Yarra Valley and the couple lived on the farm and started a family. Tragically, Helen was diagnosed with cancer and passed away, leaving John and two very young children to carry on. While showing Allan Nalder and Andrew McIntosh around the estate some 40 years later, John recalled a number of incidents – "this is where Helen bogged the tractor", "this is where Helen planted our first apple tree" and "this is where Helen…" At the completion of the inspection when they were standing atop the highest hill enjoying the views of the Yarra Valley, John recalled that in her last weeks Helen would love nothing more than to sit on this hill and look out over the sweeping farmland. He said, "This was Helen's Hill."

The new owners had a Helen in the family too, so the name 'Helen's Hill' seemed like the perfect name for their vineyard and winery.

Helen's Hill specializes in Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. 65 acres of pinot noir are planted to MV6, 114, 115 and a Pommard clone, while 16 acres of chardonnay are planted to PEN58, P76 and Mendoza clones. In addition, there are smaller plantings of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Syrah, Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Grigio. The vineyard has a number of hills running through the property with different soil types and micro climates, which allow the different grape varieties to flourish.

"It's no coincidence we are where we are. We scoured Coldstream in the Yarra Valley to find the perfect site. We were looking for three things - hills, microclimates and the iconic Yarra Valley soil.

The combination of these three factors is why we chose Helen's Hill to put down our roots, as we knew this climate would make our wines truly interesting and unique to others in the region. To this day, these factors define us and the wines we produce.

The French call it terroir. We call it Helen's Hill."  Helen's Hill 

We want you to enjoy your wines as soon as possible and endeavour to dispatch orders as quickly as we can. It may take us a little longer during sales or peak trading periods, so kindly keep that in mind if you are purchasing for a special occasion.

Shipping Cost

Delivery is free on any order of 12 or more bottles to Adelaide, Brisbane, Canberra, Melbourne, Sydney, Perth, Gold Coast, Newcastle, Sunshine Coast, Wollongong and rural Victoria.

On orders of 12 or more bottles to all other areas, we cover a percentage of the shipping costs. Shipping is calculated at checkout.

For orders of less than 12 bottles Australia wide, shipping is calculated at checkout.

Insurance

All orders are fully insured.

Standard Delivery

We use Australia Post and a Specialist Wine Courier (Anonymous Wine Freight) for domestic deliveries. Your location will determine which of these delivery services will be available.

Couriers will not telephone ahead to notify you of time of delivery and delivery on specific days can not be guaranteed.

While a large number of destinations are serviced within 48 hours or less, please allow up to 14 days for delivery within Australia.

Specialist Wine Delivery Service

We offer a specialist temperature-controlled wine delivery service called Anonymous Wine Freight to deliver your wine if you live close to the CBD in Adelaide, Brisbane, Melbourne, Sydney or Perth, or live in Byron Bay, Gold Coast, Mornington Peninsula or Geelong. If Anonymous Wine Freight services your postcode, the option to use them will appear on checkout. Here is a link to the list of postcodes they service. 

They are highly recommended as they ship in refrigerated transport to climate-controlled warehouses in each metro area before they make their way to your delivery address in air-conditioned vehicles for the last kilometers. In addition, they will even call you by phone at the time of delivery if they encounter any problems.

Please find their delivery schedule below.

Pick-up

If you live in Melbourne, you can pick up your order from our office in Camberwell by prior arrangement. Please select the 'Pick Up' delivery option during checkout and we will contact you to arrange a suitable time for pick-up once the order has been packed.

What if I won’t be home?

If you may not be home at the time of delivery and would like the wine left in a safe place, please give Authority to Leave (ATL) and any delivery instructions in the 'DELIVERY INSTRUCTIONS & ATL' at the bottom of the shopping cart, located just above the CHECKOUT button. 

If you have requested delivery with Australia Post and have not given Authority to Leave, a signature will be required on delivery. If you miss the postman, the order will be taken to your local Post Office for collection.

If you have requested delivery with our specialist wine courier (Anonymous Wine Freight) and have not given Authority to Leave, the driver will phone you for instructions if you are not at home at the time of delivery. If he can't contact you, the order will be taken to their local depot and can be re-delivered subject to a $20.00 fee.

Summer Heat Policy

If during hot weather you would like us to delay dispatch of your order to avoid potential heat damage to your wine please let us know. We are more than happy to store your order in our climate controlled warehouse until the weather is cooler. Please add the request in the 'DELIVERY INSTRUCTIONS & ATL' at the bottom of the shopping cart, located just above the CHECKOUT button.

Alternatively, we may email you and request to delay dispatch of your order until the weather is cooler. If this happens, you can of course request immediate delivery if you wish.

International Shipping

We deliver wine to a number of destinations worldwide. If you require overseas delivery, please email us with the relevant information and we will advise you if we can deliver to your selected destination and the shipping costs involved.

International orders are supplied GST free. Please be aware that you will be responsible for the payment of all duties and taxes that are levied by your local authorities.

Minimum order requirements apply.