Soumah, Yarra Valley Pinot Noir
Soumah, Yarra Valley Pinot Noir

Soumah, Yarra Valley Pinot Noir

Victoria, Australia 2019 (750mL)
Regular price$28.00
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Earth
Body
Tannin
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Alcohol

Soumah, Yarra Valley Pinot Noir

There are innumerable combinations of grape and place in the vast world of wine, and while we strive to give them all a platform, some deserve to be recurring characters. When we tasted Soumah’s new vintage a few weeks ago, it became abundantly clear that Yarra Valley’s exquisite Pinot Noirs need to be given their proper recognition and due!  


Truthfully, we haven’t offered anything from this Antipodean region since debuting Soumah’s first stateside vintage two years ago. That’s a major omission on our part because Yarra Valley is one of the best-kept secrets in wine, an untapped source of full-throated New World aromatics married to sinewy, cool-climate structure. Today’s perfectly sculpted 2019 goes a long way in making up for our oversight, as it offers more pleasure than most New Zealand, California, or Oregon Pinot Noirs we can think of at this price point. Explosively perfumed and overflowing with crunchy, energized fruit, this insanely delicious juice makes a convincing argument that the Yarra Valley deserves a regular slot in your drinking rotation!



The Yarra Valley is in the state of Victoria in Australia’s far southeastern corner, just outside of Melbourne. Whatever you’re looking for, Victoria probably has it. Burgundian Pinot and Chardonnay grow happily alongside Viognier and Grenache; Nebbiolo rubs shoulders with Cabernet; and the obscure Jura specialty Savagnin claims more vineyard space than you’d imagine. There’s a sense of freedom here, the feeling that producers can do what they please. Take Soumah: less than 30 years old, their small team focuses almost exclusively on vineyard work, (correctly) believing it to be the true source of great wine. They farm sustainably, experiment with multi-vintage soleras of Savagnin, and turn out scintillating Pinot Noir at truly humble prices. 


Soumah’s location is key. High off the valley floor, on well-drained sandy loam soils, they possess stellar sites prime for harnessing Southern Hemisphere sun while experiencing massive day-to-night temperature swings. If your first thought when you hear about Australian Pinot Noir is “too hot,” consider this: it may be hotter than Burgundy, but the Yarra Valley is actually colder than Bordeaux!


The Pinot Noir for Soumah’s “Select Vineyard” was harvested from two parcels: “Hexham” and “Upper Ngumby.” In the cellar, the grapes fermented (5% whole-cluster) in temperature-controlled stainless steel tanks, and the resulting wine was transferred into 20% new oak barrels, both barriques and puncheons, for just under one year. 


In the glass, Soumah’s 2019 Pinot Noir is a vivid ruby with magenta tones. The huge nose erupts with pure notes of ripe red raspberry, sweet Bing cherry, boysenberry, rose petals, cola spice, mint, eucalyptus, and a warm undertone of baking spices. The palate is luscious, broad, and layered in that sweetly-fruited Pinot way, quickly enlivened by a zip of cooling menthol, mineral savor, and damp earth. The acidity is medium-plus, keeping things fresh and crunchy as the brilliant, juicy red fruit rings through the finish for what seems like ages. After having this wine, we’ll never let Yarra fall off our radar again, and neither will you! Enjoy at 60 degrees in Burgundy stems over the next 2-3 years. 



Soumah, Yarra Valley Pinot Noir
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Australia

Southern Australia

Eden Valley

Eden Valley is immediately east of Barossa, but its vineyards climb to altitudes that can exceed 500 meters in some places, resulting in much cooler growing conditions. This is critical for preserving acidity in white grapes, and the traditional style of Eden/Clare Valley Riesling is high in acidity and bone-dry, to put it mildly.

Western Australia

Margaret River

The coastal vineyards of Margaret River, cooled by Indian Ocean currents, are known for Chardonnays with plenty of acidity to match their deep fruit concentration. They are intensely citrusy in character, somewhere between Burgundian and Californian in style, and consistently show well in blind tastings when mixed in with French and American renditions.

Southern Australia

Coonawarra

Much like Margaret River to the west, Coonawarra is often compared to Bordeaux because of its proximity to the Southern Ocean, but there’s a critical difference—the distinctive terra rossa soils of Coonawarra, a mix of clay/loam that is rich in iron oxide over a limestone base.

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