Wine by Farr - Tout Pres Pinot Noir 2023

A family run estate, Gary Farr purchased the property in 1994 and has developed a distinct style of wine in Geelong, the southwestern wine region of Victoria. Today, Nick Farr, the next generation, has taken the reins and with it the calibre of wines continue to soar as he produces premium fruit with a flavour, bouquet and colour that is unique to the Geelong region.

Tout Pres was planted in 2001 and is a very special and intriguing site. It rises above the other vineyards, and each of the three slopes consists of a different soil type. The largest slope is black volcanic soil over limestone; the second is quartz gravel mixed with red ironstone; the third is an iron strand in grey sandy loam. The clones, which will acclimatise and mutate over time to become the ‘Tout Pres clone’, are 113, 114, 115, 667, 777 and MV6.

Tout Pres always seems more delayed in how it reveals itself. This shyness most obvious in the nose, not least as that’s the first interaction you have with it. The wine always sits a little lower in the glass than the others, it feels just out of each. The palate gives more immediate notes of peppery spice, not pepper so much, but a prickly, tighter spice with a little more attack. There is a dried earthy note here, some cola, dark cocoa and black cherries. It feels almost brittle at times, certainly in its youth, but you wouldn’t mistake that for delicacy. It’s hard to describe it, but the wine is confident and deliberate, but there is something about this wine that is fragile too. The chalky texture of this wine, paired with the crisp yet fine acid, couldn’t be better. I imagine is this part of the wine gives that sense of fragility, it feels like the wine snaps on your tongue. I love it.