L.A.S Vino Pinot Noir 2025

Ray Jordan "This is Peterkin’s first crack at making pinot noir, following the inspiration of working a vintage in Burgundy. I have to say, it’s a mighty good first-up effort.... A wine that is bright and fresh, with lovely pure red fruit notes, and structure coming from the whole bunch ferment. It’s a thoroughly enjoyable example that demonstrates that, in good years, Margaret River can turn out some very smart pinot noir."  

Vineyard
A first for L.A.S. Vino. Following a recent vintage in Burgundy, Nic returned to Margaret River inspired to explore what could be achieved with Pinot Noir from the family estate. The vineyard lies just three kilometres from the Indian Ocean, planted on granite and gravelly loam soils. A gentle south-facing slope rolls down towards the Willyabrup Brook, while the close proximity to the ocean provides an important cooling influence. At around 40 years of age, these vines are not only amongst the oldest Pinot Noir vines in Margaret River, but also amongst the few that remain in a region now overwhelmingly associated with Chardonnay and Cabernet Sauvignon. The vineyard is planted at high density using two separate clones. Competition between the closely planted vines naturally restricts yields, producing smaller quantities of concentrated, intensely flavoured fruit. For a producer whose wines are so often shaped by unusual vineyards and a willingness to challenge Margaret River convention, this rare parcel of old-vine Pinot Noir proved simply too intriguing to ignore.

Winemaking
The fruit was hand-picked, chilled overnight and carefully hand-sorted before being divided into three separate ferments, each designed to contribute something different to the final wine.
One parcel was fermented with 30% whole bunches, bringing structure and savoury complexity. A second underwent 100% whole-berry fermentation, emphasising perfume and aromatics, while the third was fermented from crushed berries, providing greater weight and depth. All three batches underwent a five-day cold soak before fermentation and remained on skins for approximately 20 days. The wine was then gently pressed to barrel, where it matured for 11 months before the individual components were blended and bottled. The result brings together the structure of whole bunches, the fragrance of whole berries and the weight of crushed fruit - three different expressions combined to create a complete Pinot Noir.

Wine
Light on its feet, wonderfully aromatic and enormously drinkable. This is Pinot Noir built around freshness and perfume rather than extraction or weight. There is a lovely delicacy to the wine, but certainly no shortage of flavour. 
Delicious in its youth, but with sufficient structure and balance to evolve beautifully over the next five to ten years. A fascinating debut and a very different expression of Margaret River - old-vine Pinot Noir, Burgundy-inspired but unmistakably L.A.S. Vino.