Giant Steps is a Yarra Valley estate that has redefined modern Australian precision — a winery focused entirely on expressing single-site Chardonnay and Pinot Noir with clarity, restraint, and finesse. Founded in 1998 by Phil Sexton, and now under the direction of winemaker Mel Chester, Giant Steps has become a benchmark for cool-climate winemaking, balancing texture and transparency through thoughtful vineyard expression.

The estate’s fruit is drawn from a portfolio of elevated, low-yielding vineyards across the Upper Yarra and Lower Yarra subregions — including Applejack, Sexton, Wombat Creek, and Tarraford. Each site is selected for its altitude, soil composition, and microclimatic tension: volcanic basalt, free-draining gravel, and the gentle push-pull of sun and breeze that allows for slow, even ripening and natural acid retention.

Viticulture is sustainable and precise. Each block is hand-harvested and managed to preserve low yields and high flavour concentration, with minimal irrigation and a focus on biodiversity. The vineyards are not manipulated — they are read, listened to, and harvested at their natural point of tension.

In the winery, Giant Steps is minimal-intervention and fiercely site-led. Fermentations are wild, sulphur is used sparingly, and oak is applied with finesse — largely 500L French puncheons, only a small portion new. Chardonnay is whole-bunch pressed, settled briefly, and fermented in barrel; Pinot Noir is fermented with partial whole bunch and gently extracted, then aged in neutral oak to preserve purity and aromatics. The goal is balance, not weight — structure through line, not oak or alcohol.

The wines are linear, composed, and site-distinctive. Applejack Pinot Noir is lifted and dark-fruited, with spice and fine tannins; Sexton Chardonnay is mineral and tightly coiled, with citrus oil and saline length. Wombat Creek, the highest and coolest site, delivers wines of light, taut precision. Across the range — including the Yarra Valley regional expressions — there is a clear through-line: freshness, energy, and restraint, with a sense of place held clearly in every glass.

What defines Giant Steps is its commitment to listening — to soil, to season, to silence — and crafting wines that whisper their origins with focus and integrity.

These are wines of line, not volume — shaped by altitude and intuition, and made to move slowly, gracefully, and with intent.