2025 Giant Steps Circle of Fifths Pinot Noir 750ml

Awards, Ratings & Reviews

96+/100 — Philip Rich, Halliday Wine Companion · 2025 Vintage · Published: March 2026
“A blend of all the single-vineyard wines. 40% whole bunches. A medium, bright crimson red. A beautifully fragrant wine with its aromas of perfectly ripened strawberry, black raspberry, rose, lavender and cinnamon stick. Unfurls on the medium-bodied, textured and mouth-filling palate. The tannins are succulent and you barely notice the whole bunches. A step up on last year's Circle of Fifths and a wine that will still be looking good a decade from now.”

94/100 — The Wine Front · 2025 Vintage · Tasted: Apr 2026

About This Wine

Circle of Fifths Pinot Noir 2025 is blended exclusively from Giant Steps single vineyard sites, bringing together the strengths and character of each vineyard into one wine.

The wine is crafted from Tarraford, Sexton, Primavera, Applejack and Bastard Hill Vineyards in the Yarra Valley.

According to Melanie Chester, “Where the Single Vineyard wines are the pure tones of each vineyard, Circle of Fifths is the chord.”

The 2025 season began with above average winter rainfall, providing excellent soil moisture heading into spring. Warm, dry spring conditions encouraged early shoot development and minimal disease pressure during flowering.

Summer remained warm and dry, leading to an earlier-than-average harvest with healthy fruit and low disease pressure. The resulting wines show vibrant acidity, balance and depth of flavour with freshness and structure for ageing.

Producer Notes

Blended exclusively from our single vineyard sites, Circle of Fifths captures the strengths of these vineyards in one wine – carefully crafted and fine-tuned over myriad blending sessions. These wines were getting lost in the regional expression, and with the Fifths, these sites come together to tell a new story.

About the Producer

At Giant Steps, 100% of the fruit is hand picked and hand sorted in the vineyard.

Pinot Noir parcels are either fermented semi carbonic with 100% whole bunch or destemmed and fermented as whole berries, depending on clone, vineyard, stem ripeness and flavour profile.

Whole bunch batches are fermented warm with minimal mixing for around 14 days. Destemmed parcels undergo a three-day cold soak before natural fermentation begins.

Cap management uses gravity drain and returns for gentle extraction before pressing. The wines are transferred by gravity to French oak barriques for malolactic fermentation and remain on lees throughout maturation.

The 2025 Circle of Fifths Pinot Noir includes 20% whole bunch parcels and 22% new French oak, and is bottled by gravity without fining or filtration.

Specifications

• Vintage: 2025
• Grape Variety: Pinot Noir
• Region: Yarra Valley / Victoria / Australia
• Fermentation: Semi carbonic fermentation with whole bunch parcels and whole berry fermentation; three-day cold soak for destemmed parcels
• Maturation: French oak barriques with 22% new French oak; matured on lees
• Production Attributes: Hand picked, hand sorted, no fining, no filtration
• Vineyard / Geo Info: Tarraford, Sexton, Primavera, Applejack and Bastard Hill Vineyards
• Alcohol: 13.8%
• Acidity TA: 5.5g/L
• Acidity pH: 3.52
• Closure: ScrewCap
• Drinking Window: 2026-2036