Timo Mayer, 'Bloody Hill' Pinot Noir 2017

"What is left to say about Timo Mayer, aside, he keeps on making outstanding, fascinating, wonderful wines. There's the howling at moon, baying at the wind, shirt tearing and pant splitting stuff, of course, and his incredible, unique site" Winefront Australia Timo grew up in the village of Fellbach, near Stuttgart (the same village as our rock star pinot winemaker Rainer Schnaitmann) and learned his craft there before emigrating to Australia in the 1990's. The Bloody Hill ' it's called that 'cause it's bloody steep, Nathan ' is a 6 acre plot on rocky soils. Timo likes to use a proportion of whole bunch to give his wines a particular stalky savouriness, which is very much a trademark of his Pinots. His production is in line with organic practices, and the wines are bottled without fining or filtration. The 2017 vintage gave the Yarra good fruit ripeness without losing its nerve, and that balance shows here: there's warmth and generosity, but the wine never lets go of its spine. Wild cherry, iron, dried herbs, a streak of something almost Burgundian in its restraint.