Vivacious Vintages
The inaugural release last year of Prancing Horse Estate’s 2021 two single vineyard estate pinot noir wines amply demonstrated why Mornington Peninsula is regarded of one of Australia’s finest pinot noir-producing regions. This initial success is being repeated with the recently released 2022 Latitude 38 South Pinot Noir and Longitude 145 East Pinot Noir 2022.
The Latitude 38 South Pinot Noir is a smooth and elegant blend of sixty-five per cent MV6 pinot noir clone and thirty-five per cent 115 pinot noir clone. A powerful wine with a bouquet that draws you in with a darker fruit and spice spectrum on release, with more complex pinot noir elements emerging as it ages into an elegant and beguiling wine.
Longitude 145 East Pinot Noir is a blend of 115 and 777 pinot noir clones planted on a vineyard established in 2005, when owner, Tony Hancy, acquired a long-term lease on his neighbour’s north-facing eight acres. He engaged one of Burgundy’s most respected soil experts, Dr. Yves Herody, and Burgund wine expert, Pascal Marchand, to advise on soil analysis – a regime of clones and rootstocks to be planted and the site configuration. This vineyard was strategically planted with a north-south orientation, the northern aspect having more heat summation.
The pinot noir clones were planted on half of the vineyard to take full advantage of the extra sunshine, with both vintages producing equally fine, well-structured wines displaying cola, sarsaparilla and white pepper tones sitting beside ripe plum, cherry and wild raspberries (Chambord). The palate is open but wonderfully corseted by the acidity. The classy filigree of tannins also makes a strong case for your attention with both vintages being easily recognisable as being cut from the same cloth in term of vineyard derived personality.
Prancing Horse Estate is continuing to evaluate the option of introducing two single vineyard chardonnays that will trace the typicity of site and clone from both the original 1985 vineyard, and the more recently established 2005 site, rather than the current single-estate offering.
Twenty plus years of dedicated vineyard management effort has gone into the production of these limited production, handcrafted wines, which ultimately reflect the terroir of the vineyard and the vintage conditions. These exquisite wines merit savouring and can be purchased either online or at the Prancing Horse Estate cellar door.