Giant Steps seek to make wine that is less overt and obvious than most. Approximately equal proportions Gordo Muscat (Muscat of Alexandria) grown to the Boulton vineyard, and Black Muscat grown on the Burge estate vineyard. The fruit is always picked at healthy levels of baumé and fantastic natural acidity. Fruit is harvested at night, chilled and crushed and then given six hours skin contact to develop the shocking nipple pink colour. Fruit was then pressed to stainless steel tanks and filtered bright before inoculation. Juice is fermented long and cold until full natural carbonation was achieved and the optimum balance between sugar and alcohol was reached. Cold filtered and cold bottled at 0°C, crown sealed, try cellaring for ten minutes (on ice) or twelve months. Approx alcohol 6.0%
Pretty in pink with a slight petulance. Fairy floss, sherbet, pink grapefruit and mandarin bouquets. Tastes like kisses. Rhubarb crumble, toffee apple flavours and fizz on the palate, a fresh pear and tamarillo skin finish. To accompany apple tart tatin and strawberry crepes, soft blue cheeses and fruit.
One sip of this Moscato and I came over all Emily Howard. I found my inner lady, put on a flower print dress and went and sat by the pool. Yes, Moscato is that kind of wine. It’s a well worn cliché to say it’s a feminine wine that’s generally marketed to ladies, but just look at the bottle. 375Ml’s of cuteness, blushing pink with packaging so arty and clean it could be perfume. Just one crack of the crown seal and the perfume analogy is fitting. It’s a pretty wine showing delicate florals, hints of musk and persian fairy floss as well as a heightened scent of red berries. For me, most Moscato’s don’t deliver, they may be heady and fragrant but are often too sweet. This version at just 5.5% defies the norm and delivers an effervescence not disimilar to a fine sparkling. There’s a delicate bead and a creaminess to the palate, evocative flavours of rose and liquid fairy floss, a burst of sweetness but in no way cloying and then the refreshing hit of balanced acids. It’s refreshing and mouth-watering and makes you head back for more. Well done Innocent Bystander, you channeled my inner female and to paraphrase Shania Twain: “Man, I feel like a woman.” Patrick Haddock - Wining Pom, 2011-09-02
The following reviews are for the previous 2010 vintage:
The Hon. Minister of Transport says you can’t get a Moscato that points within 10 of a good Grange, but I disagree. I point on joy and entertainment rather than super- and infra-structural technicalities and restrictive budgets, and this little honey deserves 94. Its pink but adult, sweet but complex, incredibly fresh and fruity, yet with enough desert dust to balance ones miasma, and it has highly determined acidic tropical fruits to balance its frivolous musk. One cruel Sunday morn, after a surfeit of Saturday night 94 point red, the Hon. Minister will slurp one of these wicked cuties and agree with me. Betcha! Rating - 94 Points; Independent Weekly 2010
Innocent Bystander is the entry-level range from Phil Sexton at the Giant Steps winery in the Yarra Valley. Who's Phil Sexton, you may wonder? He's been a pioneering micro-brewer in Western Australia - Matilda Bay, Redback and little Creatures - and a Margaret River winemaker, the founder of the reputable Devil's Lair. All the Bystanders are worth at least a glance, but the rose especially appeals for its bright cherry and strawberry fruit, its neat balance and its seasonable relevance. A simple style maybe, but a handy option for spring and summer meals. Paddy Kendler in 'Quaffing', Herald Sun