Giant Steps
Wins Winery of the Year &
Pinot Noir of the Year…
The 2025 Halliday Wine Companion
11 Giant Steps’ Wines Including
The new 2023’s Chardonnay & Pinot Noir
Hosted by
Michael Latham, Senior Winemaker
&
Andres Aragon, Sales Manager
Masterclass: 5:30-7pm, 11 wines with nibbles $95
Dinner: 7:30pm, 11 Wines & 5 Courses $175
Wednesday August 21st
James Halliday‘s Wine Companion
Winery of the Year 2025
Giant Steps – Yarra Valley, Victoria
Giant Steps, right now, breathes rare air. It’s been an outstanding winery for a long time, but the combination of energy and expertise – and no doubt plenty more besides – that winemaker Melanie Chester has brought since she arrived at the winery in November 2021 has frankly been breathtaking. Melanie is a force in Australian wine now. She’s not ‘just’ the winemaker at Giant Steps, she’s also the general manager. She’s taken a top‑performing winery and pushed it harder, further. She’s done this so quickly that she’s made it seem matter of fact. It’s not. It’s something. Eight of Giant Steps’ wines scored 97 points or above this year. This is insanely impressive. Sixteen of its wines scored 95 or above. It achieved these scores across Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay, Shiraz/Syrah, & Pinot Noir.
- James Halliday
Giant Steps in context…
Giant Steps wines have collectively been awarded 27 Trophies and over 95 Gold Medals at major international and domestic wine shows. Lets take a look…
Wine & Spirits Top 100 Wineries in the World
2022, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013
Halliday Wine Companion Top 100 Wineries, 2023
‘Every year for the past 20 years the reputation of Giant Steps has inched higher… Everywhere you look in the Giant Steps Yarra Valley range you find wines of structural integrity that are as delicious as they are complex. It’s a case of Giant Steps by name, giant quality by nature.’
Mattinson Campbell
Sexton Vineyard Pinot Noir2022
- The Dr Bill Ryan Best Pinot Noir of Show,
- The Stodart Trophy for Best Red Table Wine of Show
- The Angelo Puglisi Grand Champion Wine of Show
- Royal Queensland Award 2023
- Best Pinot Noir of the Year, Halliday Wine Companion 2023
Applejack Vineyard Pinot Noir2022
Trophy Winner - Sydney Royal Wine Show, 2023
Tarraford Vineyard Syrah 2022
Trophy Winner - Best Shiraz, Yarra Valley Wine Show 2023
Sexton Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon 2022
Trophy Winner - Best Cabernet, Yarra Valley Wine Show 2023
Applejack Vineyard Pinot Noir 2020
Top 100 Wines, Wine Enthusiast 2022
Yarra Valley Pinot Noir 2021
Top 100 Wines, Wine Spectator 2022
The Menu & Wine List
1st Course
Giant Steps Yarra Valley Chardonnay 2023, Our Price $42
Honeycrisp apple skin, lemon zest and green plum. Winter melon and starfruit. Plumes of talc powder, pomice and honeysuckle. Plenty of white delicate florals and a blush of nectarine. Intoxicating acidity and a kefir creaminess on the finish. A spray of saline and oak appears in its round shapes rather than toasty notes. Alive with energy and creeping unsuspecting power.
95 Points Shanteh Wale, Winepilot
Abrolhos half shell scallops, sambal butter
2nd Course
Sexton Vineyard Chardonnay 2023, Our Price $80
Made from a 50/50% blend of Gingin and Bernard clones planted between 100 and 200m in Gruyere. Whole-bunch pressed to French puncheons (25% new oak) with 15% mlf. Right now, this is the most salivating and seductive of Giant Step's superb array of single-vineyard chardonnays from '23. Perfectly ripened white peach, pear and some marine scents lead onto the palate, which is gently textured, saline and structured. The finish is energetic, nutty and long.
97 Points Philip Rich, Halliday Wine Companion
Tarraford Vineyard Chardonnay 2023, Our Price $80
Planted on a cool, south-facing slope in Tarrawarra. Whole-bunch pressed and barrel fermented in seasoned French puncheons and one ceramic egg. A vibrant green gold. Immediately appealing with its aromas of stone fruits, yellow apple, some lemon confiture and a touch of brine. Chalky textured, slippery and with a certain openness but finely detailed and structured too. Grapefruit pithy on the long, beautifully balanced finish.
97 Points Philip Rich, Halliday Wine Companion
Applejack Vineyard Chardonnay 2023, Our Price $80
Applejack vineyard was planted at Gladysdale by Ray Guerin in 1997, and only 2ha of its 11ha is planted to chardonnay. It is named for the Applejack eucalypts that surround it. Whole-bunch pressed straight to barrel with full solids and matured in mainly second use puncheons. A very bright green gold. A pure and gently reticent bouquet of stone fruits, lemon verbena and crushed rocks. The palate is tightly coiled, steely, saline and focused. A wine with excellent potential.
96 Points Philip Rich, Halliday Wine Companion
Goats cheese gnocchi, pea pesto, Parmesan
3rd Course
Giant Steps Yarra Valley Pinot Noir 2023, Our Price $43
Gold Medal, Brisbane 2023
A 50/50% mix of upper and lower Yarra fruit; 35% whole bunches and matured in French oak (10% new). A bright crimson red. After a few good few swirls, aromas of ripe raspberries, black cherries, wild herbs and some crushed violets soon emerge. The palate, though, doesn't need much coaxing, and this silken, sappy wine has excellent depth and persistence. Will be even better six to 12 months from now
96 Points Philip Rich, Halliday Wine Companion
Coal River Pinot Noir 2023, Our Price $95
Gold Medal, Brisbane 2023
From the Nocton vineyard in the Coal River Valley. Hand picked into a refrigerated container by 10.30am to make the boat to the mainland; 20% whole bunches, 35% new barriques. A deep crimson purple. With its aromas dark fruits, sarsaparilla, violets and bay leaf, this is the big personality in the Giant Step's pinot range! Equally flamboyant on the palate, which is richly fruited and balanced with ripe, muscular tannins ensuring this will be long lived, too.
95 Points Philip Rich, Halliday Wine Companion
Duck rillette croquettes, white balsamic pearls
4th Course
Sexton Vineyard Pinot Noir 2023, Our Price $91
From the Sexton vineyard in Gruyere; 10% whole bunches and matured nine months in French barriques (25% new). A deep ruby. Aromas of kirsch, damson plums, licorice root and spices; this heady, concentrated wine has a lot of meat on the bones, with ripe, persistent tannins boding well for the future. A great contrast to the more delicate Giant Steps wines such as Bastard Hill and Primavera.
97 Points Philip Rich, Halliday Wine Companion
Primavera Vineyard Pinot Noir 2023, Our Price $91
From Lou Primavera's 2001-planted vineyard at Woori Yallock; 15% whole bunches and matured in French barriques (25% new). A light, bright crimson. Aromas of strawberry compote, tamarillo, sage and rose petals. A little reduction and graphite too. The palate is succulent and plush with silky tannins, making this the yummo, drink-now, single-vineyard wine from Giant Steps in '23.
96 Points Philip Rich, Halliday Wine Companion
Applejack Vineyard Pinot Noir 2023, Our Price $91
Best Pinot Noir Trophy Canberra, National Wine Show 2024
2025 Pinot Noir of the Year - Halliday’s Australian Wine Companion
It’s always a special moment when a wine wins its category two years in a row. It’s not just an achievement, it’s a revelation. It is because it’s just so extraordinarily unlikely, amid the thousands of wines submitted and tasted, that the same wine will come out top in its category in consecutive years. This is particularly true in a category like pinot noir, where so many of the biggest names of Australian wine push forward. Giant Steps’ Applejack Vineyard Pinot Noir 2023 took out the top pinot noir award this year, as the 2022 did last year.
98 points James Halliday, , Halliday Wine Companion
Angus a la minute, peppercorn butter, leafy greens
5th Course
Tarraford Vineyard Syrah 2022, Our Price $80
Trophy Winner - Best Shiraz, Yarra Valley Wine Show 2023
A single-block shiraz; 60% whole cluster co-fermented with 2% viognier and matured mainly in puncheons together with one large foudre. A medium, bright, crimson purple. Aromas of dark cherries, blueberries and graphite, with the viognier adding some exotic allspice and incense notes. Concentrated, tightly focused and beautifully balanced. Impressively long on the floral-infused finish. Super wine.
97 Points Philip Rich, Halliday Wine Companion
Sexton Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon 2022, Our Price $80
Trophy Winner - Best Cabernet, Yarra Valley Wine Show 2023
A medium deep, bright crimson purple, this elegant and concentrated wine has aromas of dark cherries, blackcurrant, ugni, cedar from the impeccably handled oak, and violets. The palate is medium bodied and perfectly pitched. This is another superb Yarra cabernet that dispels the notion that you'll have to cellar it for ages to enjoy.
97 Points Philip Rich, Halliday Wine Companion
Paysan Breton, crostini, quince
To Finish…