Seppelt Drumborg Vineyard Pinot Noir 2013

The Seppelt Drumborg Vineyard pinot noir is sourced exclusively from the prized Drumborg Vineyard in Victoria's Henty region, one of the southern-most vineyards in mainland Australia. The vines are 35 year old and subjected to icy winds from the Southern Ocean, resulting in a serious, complex pinot, often with satsuma plum and sour cherry flavours and a long, lingering aftertaste.

"This is a beautiful pinot, with its mouthfeel, balance and length amazing given its lowish alcohol; spiced plum and cherry aromas are mirrored on the supple, silky finish and lingering aftertaste."  James Halliday

"Seppelt Drumborg vineyard Pinot Noir is an expression of its unique site. Select parcels of Pinot Noir are chosen for intensity of flavour and structure. Traditional winemaking techniques are used, followed by maturation in French oak barrique."  Seppelt

Expert reviews

"Open-fermented, hand-plunged. Bright, clear crimson; this is a beautiful pinot, with its mouthfeel, balance and length amazing given its lowish alcohol; spiced plum and cherry aromas are mirrored on the supple, silky finish and lingering aftertaste. Drink by 2023."  James Halliday, Halliday Wine Companion - 96 points and Special Value Wine  ★ 

"Drumborg vineyard is renowned for riesling and perhaps chardonnay, but not so much for its pinot noir. This wine raises an objection to that notion. Smoky, funky, bunchy pinot noir. Arresting aromatics. So complex. So layered. So textural. This is one out of the box for this label/vineyard. It's a walk on the wild side. Meat/bacon and dark cherry but fresh and succulent. Textural, grainy, spicy, meaty tannin. Pure but raged with complexity. Bursts of smoked meat aroma/flavour. Love this. Drink: 2015 - 2025."  Campbell Mattinson, The Wine Front - 94 points 

Awards

Special Value Wine – Halliday Wine Companion  ★

Drumborg vineyard

The Drumborg range of wines are sourced exclusively from the prized Drumborg Vineyard in Victoria's Henty region, one of Australia's leading cool climate regions and southern-most vineyard in mainland Australia. Riesling was the first variety planted at Drumborg in 1964 by Karl Seppelt. The vineyard is swept by icy winds from the Southern Ocean and produces wines that are renowned for their fruit purity, structure and intensity of flavor.

"The half-century-old vineyard has been described as remarkable, even mystical, regarding its capacity to produce wines of incredible beauty despite the rugged, challenging and sometimes precarious, nature of the climate.

Blustering winds from the southern Indian Ocean and long, wet winters are not what springs to mind when selecting new vineyard land. But that is precisely what was chosen by the Seppelts. Third-generation family member Karl Seppelt graduated from Roseworthy and began managing the vineyards at the family winery in South Australia. B Seppelt & Sons were well known for their fortified wines, however, the market of the day was changing and there was a new need for table wine grapes.

Fortunately, B Seppelt & Sons owned a winery at Great Western in Victoria, and a gently undulating 190ha land parcel was purchased in 1964 at Drumborg, 200km from the winery. It was cooler and had more rain than Great Western, and its southerly aspect exposed it to the full weight of the south-westerly weather fronts. There were, unsurprisingly, no other vineyards around. One suspects that the Great Western winery's focus on sparkling wines was a factor in choosing such a cool site. That said, the Seppelts were well before their time, embarking on cool-climate viticulture before it was fashionable.

Drumborg is now one of a handful of vineyards in the region known as Henty. There are many different varieties planted at the site, including chardonnay and pinot noir, though riesling was the first variety planted. The original clone is unknown though it is suspected to be GM198 imported from Geisenheim."  

Seppelt vineyard manager Larry Sadler, who has worked on the block for a quarter of a century, takes his custodianship of the vineyard very seriously. 'Tasting fruit through the full length of the ripening process is one of the great privileges of managing the Drumborg Vineyard. I taste the grapes from before the birds are interested – when the acid is eye-watering; through the waves of ripening, until the last of the golden-orange berries, left after harvest, have been cleaned from the vines.'

There have been only five vineyard managers since the 1960s, despite the multiple changes of ownership. Before Sadler, Allen McLean – a true storyteller – worked the block for more than 30 years. It's clear that the place gets into one's soul, even if it's whipped there by the wind.

There is a long list of winemakers who have been part of the Drumborg story but none more than Ian McKenzie. Emma Wood, Jo Marsh and Adam Carnaby have been among the recent custodians."  Toni Paterson MW, Gourmet Traveller Wine

About the winery

Seppelt is one of Australia's most historic wine producers. Few Australian wineries have carved such a distinguished name for both still and sparkling wines. Not only is Seppelt a pioneer of white and red sparkling wine in Australia, but it also crafts some of the country's most collected table wines and has helped pave the way for cool climate styles in Australia.

Seppelt wines capture a diversity of Victorian terroirs. It sources fruit from vineyards situated in the cool Grampians, the Henty Hinterland, Heathcote and Bendigo. Each region offers parcels of unique character and distinctive regional typicity. The backbone of Seppelt's portfolio are the three iconic wines; St Peters Shiraz, Drumborg Riesling and the Show Sparkling Limited Release Shiraz, which is made only in exceptional years. 

The Seppelt Great Western winery traces its history back to 1865 when it was founded by Joseph Best – his brother also notably planted nearby. The vine material was sourced from St Peters Vineyard, which was the region's first vineyard planted just two years earlier in 1863. Best commissioned gold miners to dig the underground tunnels or drives that the winery is famous for. Those drives were expanded by Hans Irvine who purchased the estate after Best's sudden death in 1887 at the age of 57.

Irvine also expanded plantings and employed the ex-winemaker from Pommery, Charles Pierlot. At that time, some sparkling wine was being made locally, but it was Irvine's commitment that established the strong tradition in the region. That included what is often credited as the first Sparkling Burgundy, as it used to be called, made from red grapes, while sparkling whites were made from ondenc (once a common Bordeaux grape but now mainly grown in Gaillac), which has naturally high acidity.

By the early 1900s, there were over 1.6 kilometres of drives for cellaring and Great Western was Australia's largest wine producer. The operation was sold to Benno Seppelt in 1918, who added the family name and expanded the business further.

Fast forward to today and the winery is part of the Treasury Wine Estates portfolio, but the traditions are still very much alive. Winemaker Clare Dry, who spent 13 years crafting wines in South Australia, took over from Adam Carnaby from the 2021 vintage.