Provenance Scotsburn Pinot Noir 2023

Provenance Scotsburn Pinot Noir 2023
$120, 13.4% alcohol, cork, Ballarat.

This is a single vineyard wine with a production of 25 dozen only, or one barrel. The Scotsburn vineyard is at the foot of Mount Buninyong near Ballarat and is, according to the people at Provenance, “our most dramatic vineyard. At 500 metres, with ancient basaltic gravel (“chocolate soil”), it’s a site that grows distinctive, brooding and savoury pinot noir.”

Provenance is an A Grade producer as a matter of course but this wine elevates its reputation further. This is a super bottle of Pinot Noir; it’s a pity that it’s in such limited supply. It’s complex, seamless and lengthy; it’s autumnal, cherried, smoky, spicy and so exquistely crafted, and sustained, through the finish. The tannin of this wine is like the length of a twig peeled and laid, strand by strand, in a dry, meticulous weave. This is how you grow and make Pinot Noir. This will age beautifully. 96 points.