The 2017 Stefano Lubiana Sasso Pinot Noir is the estate's flagship Pinot Noir from Tasmania's Derwent Valley, produced only in vintages considered exceptional enough to carry the Sasso name. The fruit is selected from the estate's three finest Pinot Noir blocks - Il Giardino, La Roccia and Ruscello - each contributing a different soil profile, from gravelly loam and black clay through to the distinctive terra rossa and limestone of La Roccia. The estate vineyard is certified organic and biodynamic, and yields for the 2017 Sasso were exceptionally low at approximately 2.5 tonnes per hectare. Production was just 75 dozen bottles, or around 900 bottles in total, making this a genuinely rare Australian Pinot Noir. The 2017 was only the seventh vintage of Sasso ever produced.
The 2017 is a darker, more structured expression of Tasmanian Pinot Noir, combining black cherry, dark plum and blackberry with stewed rhubarb, violet, truffle, leather, clove, tobacco and savoury spice. Despite the depth of fruit, the wine remains medium-bodied, with balanced acidity and a long line of fine, savoury tannin. Jeni Port awarded 95 Points in the Halliday Wine Companion, describing it as the estate's icon Pinot Noir and emphasising its density, black-fruited character and considerable tannin structure. Andrew Caillard's database subsequently rated the 2017 96 Points, with a drinking window extending from 2029 to 2037.
