Yarra Valley Pinot Noir
2025 Pinot Noir
Yarra Valley, Victoria
$40.00
Halliday Wine Companion
"An opulent crimson purple. Explodes from the glass with its aromas of ripe cherries, raspberry coulis, lavender and spice. It's just so brightly fruited and juicy on the palate, too. Balanced acidity and tannins complete a superb and well-priced Yarra pinot to drink now and over the next three to four years. As good a Giant Steps entry point as I have tasted." - Philip Rich
96 points, March 2026.
Wine Details
- Region Yarra Valley, Victoria
- Vintage 2025
- Type Red Wine
- Variety Pinot Noir
- Vegan Friendly ✔
- Volume 750ml
- Alcohol Volume 13.5%
- pH 3.56
- Acidity 5.3g/L
- Closure ScrewCap
- Bottling Date November 2025
- Harvest Date February - March 2025
- Background Yarra Valley
- Vintage Notes The 2025 season kicked off with a generous, wet winter that filled the soil profile with moisture. From there, spring arrived warm and dry. Shoots pushed early; we had fantastic spring conditions during flowering and fruit set. The dry season pushed growth and ripening along even though temperatures weren’t hot, in fact barely warmer than average, a pleasant surprise for the dryness of the season. Harvest came earlier than usual and moved quickly, a compressed vintage that asked a great deal of the team and rewarded the effort with fruit of exceptional quality, concentration and weight.
- Vineyard Notes Sourced from vineyards across the Yarra Valley. 50% sourced from the upper Yarra ranges.
- Winemaking At Giant Steps, we hand pick 100% of our fruit and fastidiously hand sort in the vineyard. Pinot Noir has one of two processing pathways at Giant Steps - either fermented semi carbonic with 100% whole bunch or destemmed and fermented with whole berries. When the fruit arrives at the winery, we determine which direction to take the parcel depending on clone, vineyard, stem ripeness and flavour. Our whole bunch batches are fermented warm with minimal mixing for 14 days. The destemmed whole berry parcels are cold soaked for 3 days before we allow them to warm up and start fermentation naturally. All of our cap management is done using gravity drain and returns, allowing for gentle extraction before pressing. Each parcel is then transferred by gravity to French oak barriques for malolactic fermentation and is kept on those lees for the duration of its maturation. The parcels are blended together in Spring before bottling in December. In 2025, this wine has 32% whole bunches. Parcels are matured in French oak (16% new, 84% seasoned) for eight months. This wine is bottled by gravity without fining or filtration.
Halliday Wine Companion
"An opulent crimson purple. Explodes from the glass with its aromas of ripe cherries, raspberry coulis, lavender and spice. It's just so brightly fruited and juicy on the palate, too. Balanced acidity and tannins complete a superb and well-priced Yarra pinot to drink now and over the next three to four years. As good a Giant Steps entry point as I have tasted." - Philip Rich
96 points, March 2026.
Wine Details
- Region Yarra Valley, Victoria
- Vintage 2025
- Type Red Wine
- Variety Pinot Noir
- Vegan Friendly ✔
- Volume 750ml
- Alcohol Volume 13.5%
- pH 3.56
- Acidity 5.3g/L
- Closure ScrewCap
- Bottling Date November 2025
- Harvest Date February - March 2025
- Background Yarra Valley
- Vintage Notes The 2025 season kicked off with a generous, wet winter that filled the soil profile with moisture. From there, spring arrived warm and dry. Shoots pushed early; we had fantastic spring conditions during flowering and fruit set. The dry season pushed growth and ripening along even though temperatures weren’t hot, in fact barely warmer than average, a pleasant surprise for the dryness of the season. Harvest came earlier than usual and moved quickly, a compressed vintage that asked a great deal of the team and rewarded the effort with fruit of exceptional quality, concentration and weight.
- Vineyard Notes Sourced from vineyards across the Yarra Valley. 50% sourced from the upper Yarra ranges.
- Winemaking At Giant Steps, we hand pick 100% of our fruit and fastidiously hand sort in the vineyard. Pinot Noir has one of two processing pathways at Giant Steps - either fermented semi carbonic with 100% whole bunch or destemmed and fermented with whole berries. When the fruit arrives at the winery, we determine which direction to take the parcel depending on clone, vineyard, stem ripeness and flavour. Our whole bunch batches are fermented warm with minimal mixing for 14 days. The destemmed whole berry parcels are cold soaked for 3 days before we allow them to warm up and start fermentation naturally. All of our cap management is done using gravity drain and returns, allowing for gentle extraction before pressing. Each parcel is then transferred by gravity to French oak barriques for malolactic fermentation and is kept on those lees for the duration of its maturation. The parcels are blended together in Spring before bottling in December. In 2025, this wine has 32% whole bunches. Parcels are matured in French oak (16% new, 84% seasoned) for eight months. This wine is bottled by gravity without fining or filtration.
Kind Words & Accolades
Brightly fruited, with vibrant acidity that gives the wine freshness and energy.
Philip Rich - Halliday Wine Companion, 95 points, March 20262025 Giant Steps Yarra Valley Chardonnay 
A class act to drink now and over the next four to six years.
Philip Rich - Halliday Wine Companion, 96 points, March 20262025 Giant Steps Circle of Fifths Chardonnay
An excellent Sexton to drink now and over the next six to eight years.
Philip Rich - Halliday Wine Companion, 97 points, July 20262025 Giant Steps Sexton Vineyard Chardonnay
As good a Giant Steps entry point as I have tasted.
Philip Rich - Halliday Wine Companion, 96 points, March 20262025 Giant Steps Yarra Valley Pinot Noir
A step up on last year's Circle of Fifths
Philip Rich - Halliday Wine Companion, 96+ points, March 20262025 Giant Steps Circle of Fifths Pinot Noir
A more concentrated and brooding Primavera.
Philip Rich - Wine Companion, 97+ points, July 20262025 Giant Steps Primavera Vineyard Pinot Noir
Not sure I've tasted a better Applejack Pinot, which is saying something.
Philip Rich - Wine Companion, 98+ points, July 20262025 Giant Steps Applejack Vineyard Pinot Noir