D’Anna Middleton Lewis (DML VIN) is a partnership between the D’Anna family, Sam Middleton from Mount Mary and Jordan Lewis. It focuses on single site regional Pinot Noir with the first vintage being released in June 2019.

Through their love of wine, a friendship between the D’Anna boys and Jordan Lewis evolved from not only drinking great bottles of wine, but also exploring the possibility of working together with select parcels of single vineyard fruit from selected growers and establishing a project that highlighted these regional differences. During this time, a joint friendship with Sam Middleton, evolved and Sam was included in the project. In late 2017, the opportunity came up to buy a parcel of grapes from a highly respected grower whose vineyard had a track record for producing outstanding Pinot Noir and with that DML VIN was born.

This wine shows all the beautiful characteristics of a wine made from fruit grown in a cool and mild Upper Yarra vintage, sourced from a mature and well cared for vineyard. This wine is quite light in colour but provides further proof that colour has no correlation with concentration and intensity of flavour. On the nose this wine shows poached strawberry, sour cherry, quince paste and a dash of redskin adding some subtle sweetness. The palate shows elegance and restraint, with pitch perfect concentration and intensity. The primary fruit nuances arewell backed by some forest floor and earthy undertones. The chalky tannin running through thiswine gives length and drive to the finish. Expect this wine to flesh out in the cellar over the next 2-10 years.

Strawberry, a little spice, almond, kind of pretty, with a flicker of mint and light cedar oak. It’s light to medium-bodied, delicate and lacy, a subtle hazelnut flavour, fine grained emery board tannin, very fresh, again the spiced strawberry and a minty blood orange, but pure finish of excellent length. Lovely wine with a ‘mineral’ character, and a certain cool charm. Tasted: Jun 2022; Alcohol: 13.2%; Price: $60; Closure: Diam; Drink: 2022-2029+; Rated: 95 Points; Gary Walsh; The Wine Front