The Helen's Hill Estate 943 Reserve Pinot Noir 2023 is a bright, finely drawn Yarra Valley Pinot Noir built on red fruit and savoury detail rather than depth of colour or weight. It comes from the 943 clone, a selection with a following in the cool-climate United States and, in this release, the first of its kind grown in Victoria.

Wild raspberry, redcurrant and a lift of rose petal come first, with dried herbs and a whiff of forest floor sitting underneath. The palate follows the same line — red cherry and cranberry, clean and clearly defined, with a savoury edge that keeps the fruit honest.

Tannins are fine and chalky, framing a medium-bodied wine that carries acidity well and finishes long, with a trace of spice and earth. The 2023 Yarra Valley season brought cool nights and a slow, even ripening run, and that shows here in the precision of the fruit and the wine's overall poise rather than in any sense of richness.

Pour it with duck breast in a cherry glaze, porcini gnocchi, roast chicken rubbed with thyme, or a long afternoon of charcuterie and washed-rind cheese.

Drinking well from release and through to about 2031, with the acid and tannin structure to reward five or six years in the cellar for those who like a little more forest floor in their Pinot.