2013 By Farr Sangreal Pinot Noir 750ml

Overview

A highly acclaimed single-vineyard Pinot Noir from By Farr’s oldest vineyard, awarded 97 points by Halliday Wine Companion and 96 points by The Wine Front. The 2013 Sangreal combines perfumed red and black fruit, whole-bunch complexity and mineral savouriness with remarkable elegance, finesse and ageing potential.

Vineyard

The Sangreal vineyard was planted in 1994 and is the oldest vineyard at By Farr. It lies on a north-facing slope composed of bluestone beneath limestone, with red ironstone visible across the surface. This differs from the black volcanic soils found in many of the estate’s other vineyards.

The vine rows run north to south and receive full sunlight throughout the day, producing perfumed and elegant Pinot Noir. Sangreal is traditionally the first vineyard harvested. It is planted to clones 114 and 115, which the producer believes have gradually evolved within the site’s microclimate into a distinctive “Sangreal clone”.

Winemaking

Sangreal was produced with 70% whole bunches and fermented in an open-top, five-tonne oak vessel. The fruit received a four-day cold soak before natural fermentation lasting approximately seven to nine days. Once the cap fell, the wine was pressed.

The wine matured for 18 months with 70% new oak. It was racked only once following malolactic fermentation, then bottled without fining or filtration to retain its natural flavour, texture and bouquet.

Tasting Profile

Producer Tasting Note
Each year the same descriptive notes come to mind for this wine: seductive, perfumed, seamless balance and moreish… The alluring characters of this vineyard, combined with red fruits, whole bunch, acidity and oak, have produced a beautifully interwoven expression of site and vintage.

Critic Reviews

97 Points — Halliday Wine Companion
Published 19 June 2021
The vineyard was planted in ’94 to clones 114 and 115, believed to have mutated into a single ‘Sangreal’ clone. Always made with 50–70% whole bunches, and 60–70% new oak maturation for 18 months… the palate of remarkable elegance and finesse, with exactly the right balance between pure pinot fruit flavours and structure ex the whole bunches.

96 Points — The Wine Front
Review date not provided

James Suckling
Tasted May 2016
The most brooding of the three By Farr pinots with darker more savory notes. Fruits run through the black and red cherry spectrum, with some graphite, spicy toasty oak and bracken. The palate has a rich, sweeping shape, tannins are polished smooth and feel composed and discreetly powerful.

92 Points — Jeannie Cho Lee
Tasted September 2015

Specifications

• Vintage: 2013
• Producer: By Farr
• Wine: Sangreal Pinot Noir
• Variety: 100% Pinot Noir
• Vineyard: Sangreal Vineyard
• Region: Geelong, Victoria
• Country: Australia
• Original Planting: 1994
• Clones: 114 and 115
• Aspect: North facing
• Soil: Bluestone, limestone and red ironstone
• Whole Bunch: 70%
• Fermentation: Natural fermentation in an open-top oak vessel
• Cold Soak: Four days
• Maturation: 18 months in oak
• New Oak: 70%
• Bottling: Unfined and unfiltered
• Alcohol: 13.0%
• Drinking Window: 2020–2028