Jane Eyre Mornington Peninsula Pinot Noir 2023

Among the rolling green slopes of Victoria’s Mornington Peninsula, where the ocean breathes cool air into vine-laced hills and volcanic soils hum with latent energy, Jane Eyre has coaxed a Pinot Noir from the land that feels utterly in tune with its surroundings. The 2023 vintage of her Mornington Peninsula Pinot Noir is not just a wine, it’s a conversation between site, season, and winemaker, subtle, precise, and beautifully expressive.

The fruit is drawn from a single vineyard in Shoreham, planted in the late 1990s with MV6 clones on deep red volcanic soils. Sheltered from the coastal winds by a bordering avocado grove, the vineyard enjoys a gentle, slow-ripening environment, and in the cool 2023 season, that patience paid off. Ripening came late, but evenly, giving the grapes time to develop nuance without sacrificing freshness. There’s a quiet intensity in the glass that speaks to this slower rhythm, to fruit that took its time to get things just right.

Visually, the wine is a pale, limpid garnet, a classic Mornington expression that speaks of delicacy rather than density. On the nose, it’s wild and compelling from the outset. There’s a rush of redcurrants and sour cherry, followed by wafts of rhubarb, rose petal, and a twist of herbal spice that gives a nod to Campari, bittersweet, aromatic, and utterly seductive. This isn’t a fruit bomb, nor is it trying to be. It’s lifted, perfumed, and finely laced with tension.

The palate delivers exactly what the nose promises, and then some. Silken in texture but framed by a gentle grip of tannin, the wine glides with effortless clarity. That same juicy core of red fruit is present, strawberries, currants, hints of cranberry, but it’s all wrapped in a structure that keeps everything precise. There’s energy here, a linear drive that carries the flavour through to a finish that hums with savoury spice and mineral detail.

Compared to Jane’s Yarra Valley Pinot, the Mornington Peninsula 2023 shows more generosity of fruit, rounder, juicier, but never tips into excess. It maintains her signature calm intensity, a stillness at the centre of the wine that speaks volumes about her light-handed winemaking. With 20% whole bunch fermentation and just 10% new French oak, everything feels intentional, nothing overwrought. It's a wine with poise, purpose, and plenty to say, if you're listening.

This is a Pinot for those who appreciate finesse over flash, a wine that doesn’t chase trends but quietly redefines elegance with every sip. It's drinking beautifully now, especially with a gentle decant, but has the bones and balance to age gracefully over the next five to seven years.

In a sea of modern Australian Pinot, the 2023 Jane Eyre Mornington Peninsula stands apart, not by being louder or bolder, but by being more articulate. It doesn’t need to prove itself. It already has.