2017 IJM Pinot Noir
At the start of vintage on the 2nd March 2017 Ian James Marks died suddenly and unexpectedly.
We have produced a special wine in hommage.
In 2014, in response to the threat of phylloxera, we pulled out 5 rows of Chardonnay and replanted with Pinot, MV6 clone on American Rootstock (10114). True to form Ian was in his element with the replanting.
2017 was the first crop from these young vines and the wine was destemmed and fermented separately then aged in old French oak. While youthful, the wine showed a tannic backbone not normally seen in Gembrook Pinot.
The 3 rows to the immediate North of this block are the oldest Pinot vines on the property. They produce a low yield of consistently intense fruit.
To celebrate beginnings and endings, old and new, we blended a portion of the wine from the young vine pinot with that of the old vines. The result is the IJM.
Please see an article below by Max Allen in Life and Leisure, Australian Financial Review, 29.06.18
No ordinary pinot: Gembrook Hill release honours a dear, departed dad
Vintage Details
After the earliest vintage on record at Gembrook in 2016 due to extreme heat in December and January, spring preceding the 2017 vintage was cool and wet in the Yarra Valley. This delayed budburst and flowering, resulting in a later harvest.
However summer brought beautiful even, warm temperatures with cool nights; perfect weather for a long ripening season for our grapes. Happily, Vintage 2017 will produce wines in the tradition of excellent quality expected from Gembrook Hill.
Picked: 01.04.2017
Alcohol: 13.5
Tech Specs: pH: 3.6 TA: 5.4gL
Cellaring: 8+ years
Closure: Diam
95 Points
Fairly light colour with a bright, youthful purple/red hue. The bouquet is wonderfully perfumed; hauntingly fragrant, with strawberry, red cherry, floral notes. Full marks for pinosity. It's light to medium-bodied and intense, with a long carry. Delicious wine with very pure fruit. It has fine tannin, good structure and could live surprisingly well. (A new wine commemorating the passing of co-founder Ian Marks) 30/6/2019
Drink 2019 to 2029
Huon Hooke
Ian James Marks. co.founder with wile June the Gembrook Hill vineyard. died suddenly in early 2017, during vintage. There's no vintage marked on the label this wine; in its place are the dates 1942-2017. This wine is mado from both the oldest vinest on the property and the newest, both of which Ian James Marks had tended carefully and at length.
It's much like standard or estate release but it's more autumnal. mcre savoury and more tannic. It's a wine of backbone and character. It's smoky. littered with leaves. a bit dark and a bit brooding in a flavour sense though as is the Gembrook Hill way, it looks light in the glass. In cellaring terms this is the kind of pinot noir you can bank on. Its flamboyance is straight and strict. It's a beautiful tribute.
Rated: 95+ Points
Tasted: July 19
Alcohol: 13%
Price: $55.00
Closure:Diam
Drink: 2022 - 2029+