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Bress 2007 'Gold Chook' Macedon Pinot Noir

The Name
Whilst living and winemaking in the Yarra Valley, I discovered the joys of breeding and showing chickens.  This passion led me to visit France in 1996 to witness first hand their traditional methods of breeding chickens and I dedicate our wines to the famous chickens of France and what they represent – artisan production using traditional, age old methods.

The Vineyard
This Pinot Noir was grown at two vineyards in the Mount Macedon Ranges.  The Mount Macedon vineyard is situated 650 metres above sea level and is one of the coolest sites in the Macedon Ranges. The vineyard is subject to particularly cool mornings due to hillside shading which results in a prolonged growing season, which produces intensely flavoured fruit. The vine clones are MV6 and Mariafeldt and are 20 years old and were caned pruned and crop thinned to produce crops of less than 1.5 tonnes to the acre.  Chanter’s Ridge Vineyard is twelve years old and is situated approximately 15 kilometres from Woodend and is planted to D5V12 clone.

Winemaking
My winemaking belief is that good fruit should be treated gently and with minimal intervention.  The Bress 2007 ‘Gold Chook’ Macedon Pinot Noir was treated in this manner.  A combination of whole bunch and gently crushed fruit fermentations occurred in open fermenters. Fermentation was slow and was conducted by indigenous yeast strains. Hand plunging occurred three times a day.  Post pressing the wine was transferred to French oak hogsheads for malolactic fermentation. Following malolactic fermentation the wine was barrel to barrel racked. Prior to bottling the wine was transferred to tank and allowed to settle. The Bress 2007 ‘Gold Chook’ Macedon Pinot Noir was bottled without fining or filtration.

This Bress 2007 ‘Gold Chook’ Macedon Pinot Noir was bottled using a Screw Cap closure.  Using a Screw Cap closure is our attempt to ensure that our wine is presented free of cork characters (good or bad) and that the full aroma and flavour of this wine is expressed.  

Tasting Notes

• Colour: Youthful, vibrant and deep garnet with a very slight cloudiness. This is due to the fact that the wine has not been filtered. This adds to the richness and flavour of the wine.
• Aroma: The wine offers a complex array of fruit aromas of plum, cherry and forest floor. The oak aromas are of char and spice.
• Palate: This Pinot Noir has fruit flavours of plum, cherry and forest floor. The oak characters are integrated into the wine and add a savoury richness. 
  

Whilst enjoyable now, this wine will reward careful cellaring for up to 6 years.