Insiders

Dear Pinot Noir Insider,

Thank you for being part of Nine One Six. You're invited to: the Vineyard Room for private tastings, discounted price on all wines anytime (use "insiders" at checkout for 30% discount) and free delivery of orders more than $100 Australia-wide. Please do keep introducing us to people who love pinot noir. They can become a Pinot Noir Insider too. We're a limited operation, only by word of mouth, and we very much appreciate your support. Best wishes always. Cheers (of course), From E-M and JB and Henry

Vintage Notes

Harvest was the earliest ever, on Friday 14th February... Valentine's Day.

A very small quantity this vintage. We look forward to updating you on how the wine progresses.

Estimated release mid 2027. Contact E-M@nineonesix.com.au to secure pre-release allocation.

Ten years after, again climate conditions precluded a bountiful harvest in 2024. We decided to forgo the fruit and let the vines rest.

Cool weather conditions over summer after a wet spring made for lower crop size, and for us an early harvest given where the grapes were at, resulting in concentrated fruit. The quality of the handpicked grapes was very good.

The wine is elegant and composed. Early impressions suggest bright red cherry and fresh raspberry, with subtle floral lift (perhaps wild rose or crimson petals) layered over a gentle undercurrent of forest floor or mossy leaf — a hallmark of Yarra Valley’s cooler-site pinot noir.

Given our “no additions” and natural approach, you might also detect a faint, savoury stem-influenced nuance or fresh herbal edge.

Overall a medium-bodied wine with agility and a lively acidity. Fruit-wise: red cherry, pomegranate, perhaps a hint of cranberry tartness, with a fine layering of wild strawberry and plum. Mid-palate shows some savoury spice – think clove or cardamom, maybe a subtle anise or fennel bristle that lifts the fruit. The texture is silky rather than rich; tannins are gentle but present, giving structure without grip.

The finish is clean and moderately long — the cooler vintage will likely lend it finesse and age-worthy traits.

Vintage 2022 was quick, and quite early for us. Harvest day on 26th February was pleasantly warm and sunny which made for sunny temperaments as well 🙂 We were happy to have the fruit off before the heatwave a few days later.

This wine reveals layers of red cherry, cranberry, and gentle spice. Silky tannins and graceful length create a poised, elegance which speaks clearly of site and season.

Excitingly, vintage 2022 is also the year of blanc de noir! Hand-picked harvest on 22nd February. Grapes chilled overnight, then whole-bunch pressed. Zero SO2 or acid adjustment. Matured on lees in neutral French oak barriques. On lees for 3 years. Alc/vol 12%.

A complete privilege to look at these side by side.

* SOLD OUT*

Handpicked selection of West Block Pinot Noir MV6.

Combination of 100% whole bunch and 100% whole berry (de-stemmed) natural fermentation , no additions. No temperature control adopted apart from plunging (heat dissipation) and movement of ferments in and out of sun according to weather. Both ferments peaked around 32 degrees c.

Whole bunch treatment: minimal extraction. Occasional foot treading and wetting of top layer. acerated for 2 weeks post fermentation.

Whole berry treatment: Plunging 2 x daily with aerative rack and returns during peak fermentation. Whole berry pressed off 5 weeks post fermentation.

Maturation in neutral (FO) barrique barrel on gross lees for 18 months with topped barrels under minimal sulphites.

Racked and bottled unfined and unfiltered in November 2022.

Medium bodied, structured, perfumed Pinot Noir. Piquant fruit, wild herbs and fragrant earthy spices. Clarity and detail, and humming with intensity. The Nine One Six vineyard’s distinct micro-climate delivers characterful, balanced and complete Pinot Noir reflective of its distinct Steels Creek origins.

Vintage 2020 seemed like fun at the time, but as we know now, the pandemic hit, and life changed as we knew it. We kept some of the harvest to produce a sparkling pinot noir; to sense the vineyard in a different way.

It’s a “pet nat” style of fizz. Bottled after first fermentation, it is light cranberry in colour with no additions. Contact E-M@nineonesix.com.au

Low rainfall and mild temperatures from budburst through to ripening and then a hot and hurry-up end to the vintage… hand-picked from only nine middle rows in south, five middle rows in west on 28th February, 2019. A portion of whole‐bunch and destemmed berries were fermented, matured in neutral French barriques (gross lees) for 12 months, and bottled under Diam closure in July 2020. 12.5% alc./vol.

“While the bottle has some heft, not so the pristine wine within. Heady with florals, a touch of star anise, fennel and blood orange with a waft of forest floor. Sweet plums and cherries mingle and linger. Don't be fooled by its apparent gentleness and lightness across the palate, as the fine tannins and bright acidity lengthen out the finish. A lovely wine.”

94 Points, Halliday Wine Companion

Vintage 2018 sporadic rain and shine during spring gave way to a long, dry summer and ideal ripening period. Harvest south hand picked from only four middle rows, and west hand picked three middle rows both on 8th March. Whole bunches, natural ferments, separate blocks: South and West fruit kept separated. Bottled under Diam cork November 2018. Both wines 13% alc/vol.

Medium ruby colour, with brightness at the rim—a sign of a cooler-climate pinot noir, yet here with the richness of a dry, long ripening summer.

Elegant yet richly layered. Ben Haines winemaker’s note of “spice-infused bunch” suggests a bouquet of red cherry and wild strawberry fruit, overlaid with aromatic spice—perhaps star anise, cinnamon stick, or dried clove. Also expect a floral lift (rose petal or wild violet) and savoury leaf/forest-floor hints (moss, dried herbs) from the whole bunch treatment and older vines.

“Luscious spring rain, mild flowering conditions, gentle ripening: an outstanding vintage. Harvest was hand-picked from only six middle rows in the south block and six in the west on 5 March 2017. Winemaking predominantly whole-bunch into small fermenters, just a few rows destemmed. Natural ferment, hand-plunged. Bottled under Diam cork November 2018. Alcohol 12.5 % alc/vol

“Everything a pinot should be: fragrant, finely-tuned and elegant. Add to that florals, spiced cherries, orange peel and a hint of menthol before swaying onto its medium-bodied palate, buoyant with supple tannins and fresh acidity. To 2030.”

95 Points, Halliday Wine Companion

Early bud burst, perfect fruit-set, then a dry and warm ripening to harvest. Harvest details: South block hand-picked from twelve middle rows on 2 March 2016; West block from eight middle rows on 2 March 2016. Winemaking: The South and West fruit were kept separate. Both parcels underwent whole-bunch and whole-berry natural ferments (hand-plunged), with no fining or filtration, minimal intervention. Bottled under Diam cork July 2017. South at 13.4% alc/vol, West at 13.3%%

Meaty and wild. This is pinot noir to make your head spin. Cranberry, musk, sour cherry, sweet herbs, tang and silk. It offers some kind of journey and impresses as some kind of wonderful. If you get the chance you must try this. It’s captivating.

96 Points, Halliday Wine Companion

Vintage 2015 presented near-perfect conditions and an effortless ripening period. The vines were vital and healthy, and the growing season was mild, steady and quite perfect. Harvest on 28th February, quite early this year. 100% whole bunch ferment with east of south, no additions. West destemmed and whole berry ferment. No additions. West of south also destemmed. Fermentation of all wines took place between 28th February and 30th March, including two weeks of extended maceration on skins. Barrels a combination of large format (500L) puncheon from Jura Forest, France and 228L barrique from Vosges Forest, France.

Estate-grown MV6, hand-picked, whole bunches and whole berries cold soaked and open-fermented, 3 weeks post-ferment maceration for the whole berry parcels, matured for 16 months in used French oak, not fined or filtered. Clear, bright crimson-purple; despite its lengthy elevage, it is as fresh and crisp as a spring day; its cherry/berry fruit flavours positively sing in the mouth. Natural wine at its greatest.

95 Points, Halliday Wine Companion

Climate conditions precluded a bountiful harvest in 2014. We decided to forgo the fruit and let the vines rest.

Yarra Valley enjoyed warm and dry growing conditions over vintage 2013. Smaller berries / lighter bunch weights leading to lower yields but greater flavour concentration. Harvest Day at Nine One Six was 4.5T handpicked grapes passed to Ben Haines winemaker on the same day who decided on cold soak. Natural fermentation. No additions whatsoever. This is Nine One Six’s benchmark pinot noir.

“Strong, bright crimson-purple hue; a very expressive bouquet with a deep pinot and allspice aroma is replayed on the full, but well balanced palate, plum, spice and positive oak all contributing….”

95 Points, Halliday Wine Companion

Beautiful notes from Ben Haines, Winemaker: The first harvest, bouncing back from the devastating fires of Black Saturday in 2009… this was an an exciting, emotional and liberating day; a sense of renewal intertwined with sentimentality and pride. Fruit across the property was scarce and precious. With the tantalising prospect of what nuance and idiosyncrasy we would explore across the various parts of this small, charming vineyard in the future, 2012 was all about gathering the absolute best of what we had there and then - individually selecting only the perfect bunches across all corners of the property, north, east south and west. The agonisingly scrupulous yet deeply joyful experience (peppered with spicy moments of tension and stress!) yielded a magnificent 1.4T of perfect Pinot Noir.

“Striking, deep, vivid purple-crimson; the perfumed red berry bouquet heralds a harmonious, supple palate with both depth and length to the black and red cherry fruit; the oak is not obtrusive, tannins present but not obvious. To 2027.”

95 Points, Halliday Wine Companion

Blanc de Noir ¹ Museum Vintages ³ Pinot Noir ⁴

Guling Orchid - August

Pruning usually happens around this time since the cold weather is coming to an end, and the vines have had a good rest. Looking critically at the structure of each vine, we select the two strongest canes (branches)and tie them down carefully by hand; they’ll bear the fruit for the vintage ahead.

We see Guling (orchids) and Muyan (Silver Wattle) flowering everywhere in the valley. Sometimes Ae-noke (caterpillars) of the common brown butterfly feed on the grasses at night. They don’t eat much.

Porneet Tadpole Sept-November

Everything moves very quickly around this time since the temperatures are rising and the rain continues. It is wonderful to see the buds burst in the vineyard. They start with a woolly bud, then the iridescent green pushes through.

Since pinot noir is an early growing variety, we are always relieved for the new growth to make it through any frosts. Apart from that tension,there is happiness everywhere with the Pied Currawongs calling loudly, the Myrnong (Yam Daisy) flowering, and the Gurrborra (Koalas) bellowing as they mate at night

Buath Grass - November

Usually around this time the vines, and Kangaroo Grass, are flowering. The weather is warm, and it is often raining. The bunches of grapes gradually take form, every time it is amazing to observe.

Buliyong (bats) are catching insects in flight, and Male Common Brown butterflies are flying. The beautiful Coranderrk (Victorian Christmas Bush) is coming into flower. It’s a special plant in the Yarra Valley, given that Coranderrk is near, on the other side of Healesville.

Kangaroo Apple - December

The vines continue to grow rapidly in what can often be changeable weather. We’ve even had frost at this time. It can be thunderous too; very dramatic. This year after all the rain it’s challenging to keep up. The sun has appeared (for now!) and we’ll have to shift the wires up soon to hold the new growth in and give the flowering some space.

Dhuling (Goannas) are active although we’ve only seen them a few times. Perhaps they’re napping, since days are long and nights are short around this time. Seeing Bundjil (Wedge-tailed Eagle) flying around little patches, or taking centre stage swooping right up the valley at this time is enormously exciting.

Biderapp January-February

In the hot, usually dry weather, the grapes start to ripen. Gradually, but can happen quite quickly,sometimes only days, depending on the weather.

The Bowat (tussock-grass) is long and dry. Female Common Brown butterflies are flying, but our biggest concern flying about is looking out for wasps, who are also waiting for the grapes to ripen.

Ink Eel - March

When the days and nights are of equal length, and Lo-An Tuka - the Hunter, the star Canopus - is seen almost due south at sunset, is when we harvest. John Evans, Viticulturist decides when, and we gather a crew and dear friends to help hand-pick.

It’s a beautifully balanced time.

The grapes go quickly and directly across the Creek and down the road to Winemaker Ben Haines, who knows the vineyard well, and is agile in the face of nature’s whims.

Waring Wombat April-July

After natural fermentation, the grapes are gently pressed. No fining or filtration. Nothing added. Nothing removed. Simple.

This is our most enjoyable time of year. The colours in the vineyard and garden are spectacular golden yellows and orange reds. There are cool, rainy days after misty mornings, and often bright blue skies.

Waring(wombats)emerge to bask and graze in the sunshine, and to the north on the slopes of the Great Dividing Range, the Bulen-Bluen (Superb Lyrebird) males perform their courtship displays.

Days are short and nights are long. It is a wonderfully regenerative time.

References: Beautiful publication by amazing people Living With Fire, Christine Hansen and Tom Griffiths. Kulin seasons inspired, thoughtful artwork by Christine Mullen, dear past resident of Steels Creek.

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Dear Pinot Noir Insider,

Vintage Notes

Seasons at nine one six

Kulin Calendar

Buath Grass - November