Vintage 2019 late February harvest was for the first ever blanc de noir from Nine One Six.  So excited at the thought of making a sparkling!    

It was a beautiful sunny morning to pick grapes –  only 1.5T from the north block – handpicked as always, with dear friends to help.   

The week afterwards was hot. We picked all the rest of the fruit for the pinot noir still wine in 30 degrees + and we were super happy to have it tucked away at the winery starting to naturally ferment in the cooler evening.

Both the blanc de noir and the pinot noir have been made with the purest intent, and to represent the vintage at that time.   Natural, no additions, unmodified.

ALL GONE!  But there’s another in the making, from vintage 2022 for release in 2025.    Join pre-release allocation here: e-m@nineonesix.com.au

Vintage 2019 Nine One Six pinot noir notes:

The “melange” vintage: South, West and South-West.

The 2019 season in the Yarra Valley can broadly be characterised as a vintage of two very distinct

halves. Nine One Six was picked in the first half, ahead of the heat spike that largely defined the

course of the 2019 vintage.

The decision to harvest on the earlier side of the ripeness spectrum revealed an entirely fresh

perspective to the property, with intense, highly perfumed fruit delicately wrapped in a light-to-

medium body. This release presents an elegance that reflects the moment in time; the harvest

decisions, the definite winemaking responses, and the general movement towards a style that is both

contemporary and classic at once… ultimately transmitting 2019’s inimitable vitality.

The final blend was comprised of three components across the vineyard: 40% West, 40% South, 20%

South and West combined as a field blend.

The South block delivers its red fruit and wild herb characters true to form, while the West provides

structure, a darker and deeper fruit quality, as well as waves of floral nuance. And…these fragrant wild

herbs are such a signature of the Nine One Six property, and such a feature of the 2019 release.

West and South-West Winemaking: Whole bunches were placed in open-top fermenters and sealed.

Fermentation began naturally after 6-7 days; a combination of carbonic maceration and alcoholic

fermentation taking place. Once fermentation peaked and temperatures increased beyond 32

degrees, ferments were foot-stomped once per day to softly burst open the berries and encourage

gentle extraction. Foot-stomping took place over a period of four days, after which the ferment was

left to soak for a few days to build structure, and then pressed to barrel to complete fermentation.

South Winemaking: Fruit was placed in a stainless steel open-top fermenter with the lid sealed for a

7-day period of carbonic maceration to express the full aromatic range of the fruit.

The parcel was then de-stemmed to complete alcoholic fermentation on skins, with a further 3 weeks

post-fermentation maceration on skins to build layers and structure, before pressing to tank. After a

few days of settling, the wine was racked to 228 litre barrique barrels, ranging from 2-5 years old.

Maturation of all three parcels took place in neutral barrique barrels on gross-lees for a period of 12

months before racking to tank for a further 2 months. Blending and bottling took place in July 2020,

under very minimal levels of sulphur dioxide.