
2021
Region
Australia › South Australia › Adelaide Hills
Type
red · still
Grapes
Pinot Noir
Alcohol
13.5%
Volume
750 mL
Keeps delivering. Stewed red fruits, raw meat, underbrush, strawberry jam, bitter-herb edges - the same cool-climate Basket Range profile every time. Delicate and medium-bodied, fresh juicy fruit running through, smooth and seamless on the palate. No need to pretend - I just love this wine.
There is no need for concealment; I genuinely love this wine. It exhibits a neat, cool-climate style with a delightful bouquet of stewed red fruits, raw meat, underbrush, strawberry jam, and subtle hints of bitter herbs. The palate is delicate and medium-bodied, with fresh, juicy fruit creating a smooth and flowing wine. Truly delicious.
The Village line is Gentle Folk's entry tier of single-variety bottlings - the best barrels from each cuvee are kept aside for the single-vineyard releases (Scary Gully, Little Creek, Monomeith, Piccadilly, Ashton); the remaining barrels assemble into Village by variety (Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Sangiovese, Shiraz). The producer's multi-variety field-blend statement wine is Rainbow Juice, a separate cuvee.
The 2021 draws from four Adelaide Hills sites at 500-620m: Monomeith 30%, Little Creek 30%, Piccadilly 20%, Scary Gully 20% (per Sometimes Always - the producer doesn't publish per-vintage blends). Roughly 20% whole-cluster open-top fermentation for three weeks alongside a fraction of 100%-whole-bunch shorter macerations, native yeast, eight months in French oak barriques and puncheons (about 10% new for this release), no fining, no filtration, a splash of SO2 at bottling. 13.5%.
2021 was the recovery vintage for Adelaide Hills - the year after the Cudlee Creek bushfire took roughly thirty percent of the region's production and many Pinot producers skipped 2020 entirely. Long cool ripening, only one day above 40C all summer, an Indian-summer finish; large crop and fine-tannin Pinots.
This wine is delightful, featuring ripe fruits, raw meat, underbrush, and a hint of bitter herbs, complemented by some strawberry jam. It's delicate and almost seamless, making it highly quaffable. A delicious beauty that flows smoothly on the palate.
What a lovely Pinot Noir. Typical bouquet: raspberry, underbrush, red flowers, and some raw meat. It has good volume; it's fresh, sophisticated, delicate, and delicious.