Pinot Noir “Farrside” Geelong 2021 – By Farr

To produce the Pinot Noir “Farrside” Geelong By Farr, the fruit was hand picked and sorted in the vineyard. 50% of the fruit was destemmed before a four day cold soak prior to open top stainless steel fermentation over 12 days using natural yeasts. Pigeage occurred two to three times a day depending on the amount of extraction required. The wine was then transferred to 50% new Allier Damy barrels by gravity where it was racked twice: firstly after malolactic fermentation and again after 18 months prior to bottling.

A variety of viticultural techniques are used at By Farr, from cover cropping and mulching to eliminate herbicides and conserve moisture, to only using organic sprays. This wine is from a selection of the newer plantings which are on the most northerly side of the vineyard. Soils are black volcanic soil over limestone. The vines run east to west to shade the fruit from over exposure and are a mixture of 114, 115, 777, 667 and MV6 clones. This vineyard is picked 10 to 12 days after all others. The darker soils and cooler growing conditions produce a chunky, edgy wine.

Behind By Farr there are winemakers Gary Farr and son Nick. Gary has made wine in Australia (at Bannockburn) and Burgundy (he worked 10 vintages at Domaine Dujac) since the early 1980s. Today, from 33 acres in Geelong, 80 kilometres southwest of Melbourne, they make small quantities of single vineyard Pinot Noir and Chardonnay that rank with Australia’s best.