I’ll never forget the sight of pinot noir shrivelling before my eyes on the Mornington Peninsula on Black Saturday in early February 2009. Kudos to makers able to produce pinot at all in this vintage from hell, and legend status to any wine able to hold its freshness three years on. There’s a pretty, primary […]
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Paul Scorpo speaks of a more pronounced sense of place in his wines as his vines gain maturity. There’s no question that the undercurrent of chalky mineral structure that underlines his pinot noir is strengthening, rising to a crescendo in 2010, the vintage he names as the most naturally balanced and best quality in the […]
readMike Aylward crafts some of the Mornington Peninsula’s most graceful pinot noirs. In a vintage where some makers pushed their wines to an edgy 14.5%, Ocean Eight retains a gloriously effortless 13% alcohol. Such delicacy opens up the airspace for every detail to hover with exacting precision: aromas of lifted rose petal, pink pepper and […]
readL’ami Sage has found its happy place of internal harmony, a pinot noir of gentleness and elegance, defining an outstanding vintage for this underrated estate. Pretty rose petal and strawberry aromas glide into a delicate palate of red fruits and pink pepper with a background theme of brambles and dried herbs. A wine of great […]
readIt’s a reflection of the skill of Lindsay McCall and his team that three of his pinots made the cut for my “best of the Mornington” list (the third due for release later this year), all three from seasons with more than their share of challenges. His Estate Pinot is one of the darkest and […]
readYabby Lake’s 2010 single block pinot noirs are majestic indeed, but such is the precision of its single vineyard release that this wine claims the position in this list. A pinot of both focused restraint and coiled-up potential, yet generous intensity, it’s built around a firm, fine structure of beautifully textured, impressively mineral and chalky […]
readSourced from the romantically named blocks M and N of Red Hill Estate’s Merricks Grove Vineyard, these vines have found their happy place at a magic twelve years of age, producing a silky and seductive pinot noir of effortless line and pure red cherry and wild strawberry fruits. There are nuances of rose petal perfume, […]
readThe Half Acre of Main Ridge is just that, a tiny pocket producing one of the Peninsula’s most celebrated pinot noirs. 2010 will rank among the greats, slowly blossoming into something quite magnificent over a decade and perhaps two. This is a beguilingly beautiful and elegant pinot of pronounced structure and savoury complexity, layered with […]
read2010 Wallis is one of the finest wines ever to come to us by Tractor, capturing alluring exotic complexity within a style of silky refinement, effortless balance and considerable persistence. It’s a pinot noir of layered exotic spice, white pepper, anise, rose bud, bramble and undergrowth complexity, supporting a deep core of black cherry and […]
readThe Paringa is Paringa’s flagship single vineyard pinot noir from estate vines planted from 1985. This is an attractively fruit pure rendition of red cherry aromas of all kinds: cherry kernel lifted by cherry blossom and cherry liqueur. A poised palate of luscious black cherry fruit, juicy ripe berry compote, sweet strawberry jam and creamy […]
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