
2023 Joshua Cooper Doug's Vineyard Pinot Noir
Described by wine commentator Mike Bennie as "one of Australia’s brightest young winemakers”, Joshua Cooper is steadily forging a reputation for thoughtful, elegant, and confident wines from grapes grown in Macedon and surrounds. Doug's Vineyard, near Romsey in the Macedon Ranges, was planted 20 years ago by the Newnham family, with mostly MV6 pinot noir and some 114 and 115 clone vines. The soil here is rich in rocky volcanic basalt, which limits vine growth and enhances the intensity of the fruit. After three weeks of fermentation, the wine was pressed to two new (Laurent “Magic Cask” thick stave, blonde toast), seven young (2-4yo Laurent “Magic Cask”) and ten old (6-10yo) oak Burgundian barrels for 12 months of maturation. The wine is then racked to stainless steel tanks for four more months of settling, before bottling without any additives except a small amount of sulphur.
The 2024 Halliday Wine Companion Best New Winery of the Year