2023 By Farr Tout Prés Pinot Noir

About the Wine

"With every year that passes, the Tout Pres vineyard’s subtleness and delicate fruit structure are becoming increasingly pronounced in the wine. The bouquet fills the glass with spicy fruit, mineral elements and a hint of integrated French oak, with the darkness and essence of the Moorabool Valley true expressions of site.

This wine exhibits primary and secondary flavours, which strengthen the overall integration for a seamless finish. It is a tightly packed combination of plums and undergrowth with an edgy acidity—and one of our favourite drops."

- NICK FARR, WINEMAKER

Review

"The tout pres vineyard is a terribly good site. Apart from being photogenic, and physically demanding to prune, harvest and generally take care of, the wine that is produced from this daunting site is always terrific. If you aren’t familiar with it, it is laid across the gentle slope past the winery overlooking the moorabool valley. It’s barely an arms width between rows, and most of the work has to be undertaken while hunched. It is no friend to tall people, or particularly wide people either. Thankfully through struggle comes more complex wine.

Tout Pres always seems more delayed in how it reveals itself. This shyness most obvious in the nose, not least as that’s the first interaction you have with it. The wine always sits a little lower in the glass than the others, it feels just out of each. The palate gives more immediate notes of peppery spice, not pepper so much, but a prickly, tighter spice with a little more attack. There is a dried earthy note here, some cola, dark cocoa and black cherries. It feels almost brittle at times, certainly in its youth, but you wouldn’t mistake that for delicacy.

It’s hard to describe it, but the wine is confident and deliberate, but there is something about this wine that is fragile too. The chalky texture of this wine, paired with the crisp yet fine acid, couldn’t be better. I imagine is this part of the wine gives that sense of fragility, it feels like the wine snaps on your tongue. I love it."

- BEN KNIGHT, CRITIC

The Vintage

After three solid years of rain the team had hoped for some different growing conditions. Unfortunately not, a cool and wet Spring in 2022 meant that there was severe disease pressure and constant canopy management required up until Christmas. Because of the two previous growing seasons the team was well aware of what was required and did an amazing job once again. Crop levels certainly seemed below average because of the cool and windy conditions, particularly in the chardonnay sites.

With frequent rain events throughout January and early February the ripening period was making little progress until we finally saw extended days into weeks of dryer and warmer weather. The welcome relief started to show us signs of delicate, super fine flavours, driven by high acidities.

First day of picking was set for the 16th March, so we decided to hedge our bets and pick a little Chardonnay from the Cooper block and a couple of tons of Pinot from the Windmill block. With acidity still quite high and looking for balance of flavours we decided to not pick again until the 20th March. We harvested our last fruit in Bannockburn on the 6th April, and Irrewarra fruit on the 14th April. All in all we are excited about the fruit that we grew and the wines they are becoming yet it is the smallest vintage since 2002.

About By Farr

“The wines we make are not mainstream—they are expressions of our vineyard, our land and what we like to drink. That is what we promise to deliver.” - Nick Farr.

By Farr Wines is a family-owned and operated winery that has been producing world-class wines since 1994. The winery is located in the heart of the Moorabool Valley, where the cool climate and unique terroir provide the perfect conditions for producing exceptional Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, and Shiraz. The winemaking philosophy is focused on minimal intervention, allowing the grapes to express their full potential and creating wines that are a true reflection of the land and the season.

The attitude, depth of character and understated finesse of the wines is signature of Nick Farr's winemaking ethos. 

Snapshot

Region: Bannockburn, Victoria

Country: Australia

Vintage: 2023

Size: 750ml

ABV: 13.5%

Closure: Cork

Grape: Pinot Noir

Explore our By Farr collection

Explore our Pinot Noir collection