Handpicked Wines releases a second trophy-winning wine from the 2021 vintage

Handpicked Wines celebrated the 10th anniversary of its flagship vineyard Capella on Victoria’s Mornington Peninsula earlier this year with the release of two single vineyard wines from the site – the 2021 Capella Vineyard Chardonnay and the 2021 Capella Vineyard Pinot Noir. The latter picked up the award for Best Pinot Noir at the 2022 Mornington Peninsula Wine Show. 
 
Now, the multi-regional winery, whose six vineyards across Australia were recently certified by Sustainable Winegrowing Australia, has announced the release of a second trophy-winning wine: the 2021 Handpicked Wines Collection Mornington Peninsula Pinot Noir. This wine won the trophy for Best Pinot Noir Mornington Peninsula at the recent Australian Pinot Noir Challenge, and was also crafted with grapes from the sustainably managed and organically farmed Capella vineyard.

Bolstered by what chief winemaker Peter Dillon describes as “near-perfect” vintage conditions, in 2021 the Capella Vineyard produced “exceptional fruit of concentrated flavours and acid structure, which was wildly expressive of the site. I’m certain that comes from our work in the vineyard,” he says.

The Capella Vineyard.

Of the win, Peter adds: "We are incredibly excited and proud that in all the diversity found in pinot noir, ours has won this again. We have been a finalist on all four editions of the Challenge's history, and hitting the podium for a third time is a fantastic achievement."

This sentiment was mirrored by winemaker Rohan Smith, who said: "Competition this year was fierce, and to be recognised as the best is an absolute honour. We are terribly proud and humbled to bring the trophy home once again." 
 
The Collection Pinot Noir has been described as a gem in Handpicked Wines’ portfolio, both for the distinct sense of place it offers and because of how well it demonstrates Handpicked’s winemaking philosophy, where the chosen varieties best express the character and personality of the region while offering both complexity and depth of flavour. 
 
Previous vintages of this wine have been rated 95-points by the Halliday Tasting Team, with the 2018 and 2019 vintages being described as "...richly tapestried" by Ned Goodwin MW and "...dangerously delicious..." by Jane Faulkner respectively.

2021 Handpicked Wines Collection Mornington Peninsula Pinot Noir

It’s easy to see why the Mornington Peninsula is one of Australia’s premier pinot noir regions in this wine of vibrant cherry fruits, spicy oak and earthy complexity. The palate is silky smooth and has velvety tannins. Coming from a mix of Capella Vineyard blocks (blocks A, B, E and F), the fruit was hand-picked, destemmed, and then fermented in open stainless-steel fermenters. The wine was then pressed to tank post-ferment and racked into French oak barrels before being aged for 10 months using 33 per cent new oak from four select French oak coopers before bottling. 

Winemaker Rohan Smith says: This wine has all the hallmarks of Mornington Peninsula pinot noir – delicate florals with delicious red fruits, blood orange, Campari and spice. It is a seductive wine with fine bone structure, silky tannins, layers of complexity and underlying power from the incredible fruit that the Capella Vineyard delivers. Showing great persistence and poise, it is approachable now or will reward cellaring. 

Suggested food pairing: Pair with rabbit stew, mushroom dishes, poultry, and hard cheeses.

RRP $59.99 | Drink to 2031

For more information and to shop the 2021 Handpicked Wines Collection Mornington Peninsula Pinot Noir, click here.