Giant Steps
Winner of Winery of the Year & Pinot Noir of the Year
- 2025 Halliday Wine Companion
13 Giant Steps’ Wines Including
The New ‘Circle of Fifths’ Chardonnay & Pinot Noir
Sunday August 31st
Hosted by Melanie Chester Head of Winemaking and Viticulture
Lunch: 12-3pm, 13 Wines with 4 Courses, $195
Masterclass: 4-6pm, 13 wines with nibbles $115
Dinner: 6:30pm, 13 Wines & 4 Courses $195
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 2024
95 Points - Philip Rich, Halliday’s Wine Companion
An even split of upper and lower Yarra fruit; both estate grown and from growers. Less mlf than last year. Smells fleshy with aromas of stone fruits, together with a little pink grapefruit and light citrus notes. It's both approachable and gentle, even as a young wine, but the balance for drinking now or cellaring in the short to medium term is absolutely spot on.
Giant Steps Circle of Fifths Chardonnay 2024
96 Points - Philip Rich, Halliday’s Wine Companion
Blended exclusively from their 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.
2nd Course
Sexton Vineyard Chardonnay 2024 (reviews not released yet)
Tarraford Vineyard Chardonnay 2024 (reviews not released yet)
Applejack Vineyard Chardonnay 2024 (reviews not released yet)
Bastard Hill Vineyard Chardonnay 2024 (reviews not released yet)
3rd Course
Giant Steps Yarra Valley Pinot Noir 2024
95 Points - Philip Rich, Halliday’s Wine Companion
A 50/50% mix of upper and lower Yarra estate and grower fruit. 30% whole bunches. A very bright crimson purple. Pretty and complex with aromas of red cherry skins and rhubarb together with some pink peppercorn spice and a light savoury edge. More approachable than the '23. As a young wine, the medium-bodied palate is spicy, silky and long. It'll probably age well but it's so good to drink now that there's no need to bother!
Giant Steps Circle of Fifths Pinot Noir 2024
Along with the chardonnay, this is an exciting new addition to the Giant Steps range. A blend of all the single-vineyard wines and mainly from the vineyards in the Upper Yarra. 40% whole bunches. Gently brooding with aromas of wild black cherries and raspberries along with some whole-bunch–derived fennel seed spice and a touch of violets. Concentrated, with far more stuffing than the Yarra Pinot. Ripe, suave tannins ensure this will be worth cellaring for at least five to eight years.
4th Course
Coal River Pinot Noir 2024 (reviews not released yet)
Sexton Vineyard Pinot Noir 2024 (reviews not released yet)
Primavera Vineyard Pinot Noir 2024 (reviews not released yet)
Applejack Vineyard Pinot Noir 2024 (reviews not released yet)
Bastard Hill Vineyard Pinot Noir2024 (reviews not released yet)
To Finish…