98+ Points - Philip Rich
Giant Steps has forged a reputation as one of the Yarra Valley's leading wineries, with their Pinot Noir and Chardonnay consistently among the nation's finest examples. Named 'Winery Of The Year' in the 2025 Halliday Wine Companion, Giant Steps continues to produce some stunning cool-climate wines.
This is sourced from the high-altitude Applejack Vineyard in Gladysdale (Upper Yarra Valley), which was planted in 1997. This site is on steep, east-facing slopes with volcanic grey clay soils stays cool and sheltered, allowing for extended ripening and complex flavour development
Widely considered one of Australia’s premier cool-climate single-vineyard Pinot Noirs, the 2025 Giant Steps Applejack Vineyard Pinot Noir is another meticulously made Pinot Noir. Highly aromatic and perfume-driven, balancing bright red fruit (wild strawberry, sour cherry) with darker berries, floral violet, and distinctive savoury earthiness (dried herbs, woodsmoke, and gentle spice) Always in high demand, our limited remaining stock will not last long.
"98+ Points. From the Applejack vineyard, planted on grey clay soils at 300m in Gladysdale in '97 by Ray Guerin. 35% whole bunches. A deep, bright plummy red. The perfume when you put your nose in the glass is off the chain! Aromas of wild strawberry, black raspberry, peony, bergamot and Chinese five-spice. Multi-faceted and layered on the medium-bodied palate, with the tannins perfectly interwoven with the fruit. It's incredibly long and will reward cellaring over the next decade or more. Not sure I've tasted a better Applejack Pinot, which is saying something. $105. Drink: 2026 - 2036. Screwcap" - Philip Rich, Halliday Wine Companion.
"96 Points. The Applejack Vineyard at Gladysdale in the Yarra Valley is on an east facing slope. There’s a 100 metre drop from the top of the vineyard to the bottom. There’s also significant clonal diversity in this vineyard. It was planted in 1997 in caramel-clay soils. Stunning pinot noir. Exceptionally fragrant, dramatically well structured and then just so impressively persistent. It tastes of forest berries and pure red cherry, crushed dry and fresh flowers, an assortment of teas and twiggy herb notes, though it’s that push of fruit that really beguiles. This is top tier gear, no doubting it. The frame of tannin, in a balanced and appropriate way, is next level; it just has that extra push. Tasted: Jul26 13.5% alc. $105. Screwcap Drink: 2027 - 2034+"- Campbell Mattinson, The Wine Front.
