2015 was important in the life of Nine One Six; somewhat a milestone. There are two equally important reasons for this: First, this was the first year that we understood the extent of the variations in grape character throughout the property. The ideal ripening conditions, combined with a renewed health and vigour in the vines since the fires and drought conditions of the previous six years, allowed us to see the vineyard in a new light. From a winemaker’s point of view, it felt almost like walking through a new vineyard. The vines had healthy vigour, deep green leaves, even bunch distribution and an overall feeling of balance. There was an atmosphere of activity and vitality across the property, with natural growth on the vineyard floor and a general feeling of “wellness”. The ultimate result of this was the ability to see the subtle nuances in grapes character across the block with intense clarity. This was the beginning of understanding the exciting micro-climatic variations within the Nine One Six property. As a result, this was the first year we began to harvest some of these discrete areas separately, capturing four separate “personalities” of the property, later represented by four different parcels of Nine One Six Pinot Noir. These components taught us a lot about the property. They also formed the elements from which we blended the 2015 Nine One Six Pinot Noir.