Hurley Vineyard Garamond Pinot Noir 2021

"Kevin Bell is an extraordinary man who brings his intelligence and empathy to the craft of wine growing. The subtle distinctions  between the three Hurley sites are worthy testament to Bell's innate talent."  Peter Bourne

Kevin Bell and his wife Tricia Byrnes established Hurley Vineyard in 1998. The 3.43 ha vineyard, located in the south-eastern lowland hills of the Mornington Peninsula, is planted solely to Pinot Noir. The site has three clearly defined climates and a single vineyard wine is produced from the three blocks: Lodestone, Hommage and Garamond.

The 1.2 ha Garamond plot is planted with clone MV6, is east-facing, gets the gently warming morning sun and is the last to be picked each year. Garamond is always the most sought after and highly regarded wine from the Estate. 

"Very good depth of colour and a rich, dark-cherry aroma, ripe and brooding. A full-bodied pinot of superb concentration, power and persistence. Lots of tannin and quite robust within the regional context. A biggie and a beauty."  Huon Hooke

"More like garnet. This has an intensely fragrant nose of flowers, raspberries, black cherries and the forest floor. Medium bodied but more structured than its siblings, the palate experience is one of ripe (not overripe) red cherries, currents and red plums. The tannins are silky and powdery. The finish is ultra-long and persistent, flaring at the back of the palate. This is elegantly framed, very layered and packed with detail. Drink To 2041."  Hurley Vineyard

Expert reviews

"Very good depth of colour and a rich, dark-cherry aroma, ripe and brooding. A full-bodied pinot of superb concentration, power and persistence. Lots of tannin and quite robust within the regional context. A biggie and a beauty. (MV6 clone, all destemmed). Drink: 2023–2036."  Huon Hooke, The Real Review - 96 points 

"The most balanced and complete of Hurley's pinots this vintage, with more flesh to the bones. Dark fruit, ripe, tangy and sometimes sweet, punchy acidity yet firm tannins and smoky, charry oak acting as a backdrop to the full-bodied palate. Drink by 2034."  Jane Faulkner, Halliday Wine Companion - 95 points

"The dark fruited one. It’s moody and brooding, chewy and dry as a bone. Succulent texture, sure, but geez that tannin profile is serious. Sooty, spicy, earthy, sweet earthy let’s say, stewed plum, cola, salted liquorice, sage and rosemary herbal elements. I like the strict nature of the wine, it runs with authority and delivers stern but refreshing feels. Elemental in a way. All about texture. A Very Serious Wine. Drink: 2023 - 2035+."  Mike Bennie, The Wine Front - 94 points

Garamond vineyard

The name Garamond honours the artisanal ethic of the Renaissance typographer, Claude Garamond, who designed the elegant font used on the Hurley label.   

The 1.2 hectare Garamond plot is east-facing, gets the gently warming morning sun and is the last to be picked each year. It exudes peace, calm and fecundity. It is the good child. It sets well, but does not overcrop. It is balanced in every way. After shoot thinning, we do very little in Garamond, except to genuflect. The purity of the fruit and the fineness of the tannins can be tasted while the grapes are ripening on the vines.

It is all of clone MV6, which came from pre-phylloxera stock brought to Australia from Burgundy in the very early 1800s by that pioneer of Australian viticulture, James Busby. Garamond is a perfect marriage of vine and place, the apotheosis of Hurley Vineyard terroir. It was planted in 1998.

About the winery

Kevin Bell and his wife Tricia Byrnes established Hurley Vineyard in 1998. Kevin is the winemaker and viticulturist. Tricia is the business manager and all else. The Vineyard is located in the south-eastern lowland hills of the Peninsula in a sub-region formed by Balnarring and Merricks, and wraps around the north-east crest of a little volcanic hill. It's a beautiful terroir for growing Pinot Noir and the 3.43 hectares has three clearly defined climates: Lodestone, Hommage and Garamond. 

Kevin and Tricia shared a love of wine, culture and the natural environment since first meeting in 1978. They visited vineyards and wine-making families and drank good wine wherever they could find it. Gradually Pinot Noir became their favourite grape and their palates went south to cooler climates where the best Australian Pinot Noir is grown and made. After much research and a long search for the right site, they chose the Mornington Peninsula and were drawn to the historic Hurley Farm. 

The Hurley Farm was first established by Irish settlers, William and Johanna Hurley, in 1865. The couple had 11 children in the historic wattle and daub cottage, which they built in 1876 and became the site of Balnarring's first post office and general store. It was derelict in 1998 but has been restored and is now Bell's office. 

Hurley Vineyard was planted in 1998 and 1999 but officially opened in 2001 when Boon Wurrung (the traditional owners of the Mornington Peninsula) ancestral elders performed a traditional 'welcome-to-country'.  This consisted of a 'smoking ceremony' in the winery and the presentation of a gift of leaves from a eucalypt tree. The first harvest followed in 2002. 

In planning for the vineyard, Bell was clear that he wanted a small vineyard, not a hobby farm and decided to focus on one variety and one colour. "I wanted to reinterpret making Pinot Noir in a way that was authentic to our place, yet which paid homage to Burgundy," he recalls.

Bell completed a Bachelor of Applied Science (Wine Science) at Charles Sturt University in 2011 and drew on a wide circle of fellow pinot noir makers in Australia and Burgundy to perfect his craft. Nat White (Main Ridge) and Phillip Jones (Bass Phillip) helped him develop his understanding of making Pinot Noir, and later, consultant Gary Baldwin taught him the art of assessing wine barrel by barrel.

Bell came to understand Burgundian techniques by inviting Jean-Marie Fourrier to Balnarring and then visiting him at Gevrey Chambertin in the Côte-d’Or. The latter enabled him to work with equipment that was not available in Australia, and come to understand destemming, cold soaking, using wild yeast with no additions and oxidative pressing using a basket press – all now part of the operation at Hurley.  

"Kevin Bell is an extraordinary man who brings his intelligence and empathy to the craft of wine growing. The subtle distinctions  between the three Hurley sites are worthy testament to Bell’s innate talent."  Peter Bourne, Gourmet Wine Magazine