Symons Georgica Vineyard Pinot Noir 2024

Symons Georgica Vineyard Pinot Noir 2024

After 15 years at Petaluma, 14 at Stonier and 3 at Tuscan winery Antinori, Mike Symons established his own eponymous label on the Mornington Peninsula in ’23. His small yet focused range comprises 3 wines – a regional pinot noir, regional chardonnay, and the jewel in the crown, the single-vineyard Georgica Pinot Noir – made with a hands-off approach and a restrained use of oak to let fruit and site shine.

The 30-year-old Georgica vineyard is a classic warm site in a cool region, receiving lots of lovely, warm, sunshine hours in the daytime on an elevated position in Red Hill.

I sat with this wine over the course of a few hours and it just got better and better. It’s a meaty pinot noir with spice and undergrowth characters laid on, and at least initially there’s a clear application of cedarwood oak too, which adds a bit of spunk but also obfuscates slightly, or at least at first. But by the end of my experience with this wine those oak notes had nestled in beautifully, which then seemed to help the finish to spread out and seek new territory, which then elevated the wine sigificantly. The end result is a structured, powerful pinot noir of both personality and length – which will, over the medium term, age beautifully. 94 points - Campbell Mattinson