Doug’s Vineyard is situated on the outskirts of the township of Romsey in the Macedon
Ranges. Owned by the Newnham family, it was planted 20 years ago to predominantly
MV6 and smaller amounts of 114 and 115 clone pinot noir.

A cool hamlet, the vines sit at around 500m altitude, atop a North and North East facing
hillside on red rocky volcanic basalt soil, moderating vigour and providing amazing
intensity to the fruit, ripening small, beautifully formed clusters at low sugar levels.

Once hand harvested in the cool of morning, with careful sorting in the vineyard,
grapes were transferred to open fermenter with 20% as whole bunches and the
remainder de-stemmed. The must was then allowed to soak 4-5 days at its cool
ambient temperature until fermentation commenced. Thereafter the grapes were
gently extracted by a combination of pumping over and pigeage by foot.

The wine was then pressed after a total of three weeks on skins and transferred to
two new (Laurent “Magic Cask” thick stave, blonde toast) seven young (2-4yo Laurent
“Magic Cask”) and ten old (6-10yo) oak Burgundian piece for lees ageing for 12
months, followed by four months in stainless steel on fine lees before racking and
bottling, unfined and unfiltered.

Deep ruby. Bright, concentrated raspberry and blackberry fruit, rose garden in the
morning due and potpourri complexed with exotic spice, and a flinty, mineral edge.
Concentrated and fleshy throughout the mid plate and long with ribbons of fine
velvety tannin and creamy pinot fruits, combined with the typical exotic spice always
evident in the Doug’s cuvee.

One of our best vintages from this lovely site, showing the exceptional combination of
freshness, depth and structure in an elegant frame. Cellaring will be well rewarded.

- Joshua Cooper