By Farr Winter Release 2021

Located in the Moorabool Valley between Geelong and Ballarat is the iconic By Farr estate. With over 200 years of grape growing in the region, the unique combination of rich volcanic soil and continental climate produce fruit with excellent bouquet, flavour and colour.

The first property was purchased by Gary and Robyn Farr in 1994, with a second added in 1998. Finally son Nick and his wife Cassie added their own plot in 2011, combining for a total of 130 acres with 36 planted to vines.

Gary Farr is one of the most iconic figures in Australian wine, he has put the Geelong region on the map for some of the greatest Pinot Noir produced in the southern hemisphere. Along with some incredible Pinot he also produces some benchmark Shiraz, Viognier, and Chardonnay.

Today it is Gary's son Nick making the wines, as he has done for the past several vintages. Since his time at the helm Nick has used his wealth of winemaking experience across the globe to take By Farr to a new level, even allowing Nick to take out the  Gourmet Traveller Winemaker of the Year 2020.

The level of quality seems to increase with each and every vintage, 2019 and 2020 no exception.

By Farr now sits comfortably among the best Pinot Noir producers in Australia, with their Shiraz and Chardonnay equally impressive in their own rights. These are wines adored by Australian wine enthusiasts. 

By Farr Farrside Pinot Noir 2019

$100 each or $90 in any 6

The Farrside vineyard sits on a northeast-facing slope and consists of limestone topped with black volcanic soil. The vines were planted in 2001 and run east-west to protect the fruit from overexposure to the sun. The clones are a mixture of 114, 115, 777, 667 and MV6. Even though the Farrside and Sangreal vineyards are only 300 metres apart, the darker soils and cooler growing conditions of the Farrside vineyard mean these grapes are picked 10 to 12 days after all others and produce a more masculine and edgy wine.

The fruit is hand-picked and sorted in the vineyard, then fermented in an open-top fermenter. Between 40 to 50 per cent of the fruit will be stemmed and then cold soaked for four days. We use only the natural yeast for the fermentation process, which takes roughly 12 days. Grape-stomping (known as pigeage) will occur two to three times a day depending on the amount of extraction required, and the wine is then placed in 50 to 60 per cent new Allier barrels by gravity. It is racked by gas after secondary fermentation, then again at 18 months to be bottled.

By Farr Sangreal Pinot Noir 2019
$120 each or $108 in any 6

The Sangreal vineyard was planted in 1994, making it our oldest vineyard. It lies on a north-facing slope and the soil composition is bluestone and over limestone, with red ironstone colouring the surface. This is unlike our other vineyards, which are mostly black volcanic soil with heavy amounts of limestone on the surface. The vine rows run north-south, receiving full sun exposure throughout the day, resulting in more perfumed, prettier wines. This is always the first vineyard to be harvested. The clones used in Sangreal are 114 and 115, which we believe have mutated over time to become the ‘Sangreal clone’, now within its own microclimate.

Sangreal is consistently made with 60 to 70 per cent whole bunch and aged in new oak. It is fermented in a five-tonne oak barrel with an open-top fermenter, and cold soaked for four days before a natural fermentation of seven to nine days. Once the cap falls, the tank is pressed. The wine is racked only once after malolactic fermentation, then sulphured and bottled, the entire process taking a total of 18 months. The wine is unfined and unfiltered in order to retain its natural flavour and bouquet. Sangreal is the most seamless and perfumed of the three single-vineyard pinots

By Farr Shiraz 2019
$100 each or $90 in any 6

Shiraz fruit comes from the original By Farr vineyard, planted in 1994. It lies on a north-facing slope, and the red volcanic soil has a base of limestone with deep-set sandstone.

All fruit is hand-picked from the VSP trellising, with 20 per cent left as whole bunches in the fermentation. Most years we co-ferment between 2 and 4 per cent viognier with the shiraz, the date determining whether or not the former is co-fermented and bled back. It is a natural fermentation, with the fruit remaining in the tank for 19 days before pressing. Shiraz sees 18 months in French oak, 20 per cent being new, and is bottled under vacuum.

By Farr Chardonnay 2020
$100 each or $90 in any 6

The By Farr chardonnay comes from the same site as the Sangreal pinot noir—composed of red soil over limestone—and was planted in 1994. The limestone of this site is not exposed on the surface as at other sites. The limestone starts 20 to 30cm below the surface, to the depths of the root zone of the vines. It is a very exposed north-facing slope. The clones used for the chardonnay are a mixture of Dijon clones and Penfolds 58.

The fruit is hand-picked then whole-bunch pressed in the winery. All the solids are collected and chilled before being put to barrel, which are 30 per cent new French oak. A natural fermentation will occur at cool temperatures over the next one to two months, and then a small amount of stirring helps start malolactic fermentation. The wine is then racked, fined and lightly filtered before bottling 11 months after picking. A very mineral site for chardonnay.