WITH TONY LOVE

One of the clearest trends in the past few years has been the increased use of whole grape bunches in the total volume of fruit as it begins its transition to wine.

They add interesting flavours and structural elements to many wines, especially those varieties that benefit from extra layers of complexity such as chardonnay, pinot noir and even fullerbodied reds such as shiraz and cabernet, which are finding extra appeal if they lean towards medium-bodied styles.

Two recently released pinots out of the Coal River Valley tell us a little about what whole bunches and their stems bring to the table.

But first, a step back. Winemaker Samantha Connew, at Stargazer Wines, says of the Coal River district: “Afternoon sea breezes cool down our warm days pretty quickly and, as a result, the wines have good bright fruit characters.”

Similarly, David LeMire, from the Shaw + Smith team, which now owns the Tolpuddle Vineyard just 10km away from Stargazer’s Palisander Vineyard, says the long ripening period typical of the area gives low alcohols and generates lots of flavour development.

Note that both mention obvious fruit characters, but they also employ about the same 40-per-cent proportion of whole bunches to add complexity, or to temper, their wines’ fruit-bomb intensity.

“They give us aromatic and flavour complexity to avoid getting that simple fruity spectrum,” LeMire says.

Connew says that in her Stargazer 2016 Pinot Noir ($50) there’s a “Negroni-like” impression, which is an influence of the whole bunches and stems, and possibly the wild fermentation. It adds a slight funkiness and creamy mouth-feel.

Both wines show an attractive sappiness in varying degrees, rather than obvious oak, and they have delicious kitchen herb and spice complexities through the typical red fruit spectrum. If that’s a result of whole bunches and stems in the winemaking, then let’s celebrate their inclusion.

Tolpuddle 2016 Pinot Noir ($79) has a subtle sappy character that merges with a generous and fleshy cherry spectrum of flavours – peppery, spicy, slippery and lingering with softly gripping tannins.

The whole-bunch influence can vary across vintages, but a definite style has established itself now.

Stargazer 2016 Pinot Noir has a slightly more pronounced sappiness with further layers of woody herbs and spice. There’s a suggestion of orange amaro with pepper, red fruit and delicate cushiony tannins completing the picture. A fabulously beguiling wine.