Tasting Notes
Nikau Farm Pinot Noir is a new wine from Dane and definitely the closest to home for him. He lives on the vineyard... This is his home block and the way he speaks about the site, it's like a part of his family. Roughly an acre in size, 27 year old vines, 350m above sea level, a mixture of different clones and very low yielding. in 2019 only 700kg of grapes were grown so a very limited number of bottles produced.
100% hand destemmed into stainless steel for wild fermentation and saw no plunging or movement. After 6 weeks the wine is pressed and transferred back into stainless steel for 10 months before being bottled. Dane says this is the most hands off wine he has ever made, a big reason being the quality of fruit grown on this site. We are all excited to see what comes of this new project. Hardcore fans of Momento Mori and Dane, this one is for you. - Pete L
Momento Mori and most recently, Nikau Farm were founded by Dane Johns, a native New Zealander who honed his craft working for Gippsland legend Bill Downie. Bill is a legend in his own right and someone who definitely helped Dane forge his own path as he now follows a very similar ideology in his winemaking and viticulture.
Dane under the artwork that is the Momento Mori label focusses mainly on Italian varietals sourced from the Chalmers Vineyard, even his Syrah gets a splash of Nosiola! All of his wines are as hand made as it gets…. Small wild ferments, no new oak, no mechanical pumps, filtration, no additions other than the a very small dose of SO2 before bottling for some wines if needed. Given the nature of his operation there are only ever very small volumes of wine produced each year and for those fans of Momento Mori they get snapped up quickly.
| Product Type | Wine Red Pinot Noir |
| Volume | 750ml |
| Country | Australia |
| Region | Victoria |
| Sub Region | Gippsland |
| Winemaking Practices | Natural |
| Vineyard Practices | Organic/Biodynamic |