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Continuing the country/grape variety theme,
 this was the title of a blind Pinot Noir tasting led by two leading Australian winemakers: Steve Webber
of De Bortoli and Peter Leske of
Nepenthe. The former winery is in the Yarra Valley,
Victoria (east of Melbourne) and the latter Adelaide Hills, South Australia,
where Jeffrey Grosset also grows a tad of Pinot. Other Victorian
wineries included Stonier, Mornington Peninsula
(south of Melbourne) and Scotchmans Hill, Geelong
(southwest); from Western Oz we had Plantagenet,
Great Southern region and Fonty's Pool from
Pemberton (both about 400 km southeast of Perth). And last but not least, the
great Pipers Brook Estate in Tasmania.
Which more
or less covers all the best areas, where Pinot Noir really appears to
feel at home - obviously the key is 'cool climate' (man). I
discovered a couple more Oz Pinot producers at the show (London Wine Fair, May
2006),
also included in my report: Giant Steps/Innocent Bystander and
Pirie. By
the way, Pinot South is an association set up by Diamond Valley (Yarra),
Stonier, Nepenthe, Scotchmans and Stefano Lubiana (Tasmania).
Other top names in Pinot conspicuous by their absence take in
Coldstream Hills, Paringa
Estate and Yering
Station (all Victoria).
Steve and Peter summarised the main changes towards making quality Pinot in
Australia, technical and philosophical. Vine age is an obvious but important
development, as are Pinot clones especially new French ones and which rootstocks
work best with them, planting density in different soils etc. The focus has definitely
switched to growing accompanied by an understanding that Pinot requires a lot of
effort. This means cane pruning, less buds, shoot and bunch thinning,
hand-picking and sorting (the latter two very important for top notch quality).
And not picking too late but just ripe, even if only at 12.5% potential alcohol.
Basically all the stuff the best Burgundy growers have learned over generations
and many more years of hard graft (minus chucking sugar in the vat).
 By getting the vineyard right, which is cost-intensively manual, actually making good Pinot becomes easier. The Oz mistake 20
years ago was to focus on the winery first. Climate studies have also been done hence the concentration on the
cooler regions, as mentioned above. In the winery itself, current successful
techniques for Pinot include small batch fermentation (4-6 tons), "full-bodied pigeage"
(I guess means vigorous hand- or foot-plunging),
extended skin maceration and careful oak selection. Both Steve and Peter have
done vintages in Burgundy in the last few years. Anyway enough of the blah blah, here are the wines: no "******* Merlot" here!
Victoria
2004 Stonier, Mornington Peninsula - nice
smoky 'sweet and savoury' (abbrev to s+s from now onwards) notes with complex
herbal fruit set against background oak; perfumed juicy red fruit start getting
more austere with its acid structure plus a little weight from the alcohol,
reasonably elegant and more savoury finish. £12 UK retail, importer Bibendum Wine.
87-89
2004 De Bortoli Reserve Release, Yarra Valley - pure fruit v smoky notes,
fragrant yet ripe red fruits; delicate dry tannins and acidity, chunkier long
finish suffused with delicious Pinot flavours. £18, De Bortoli Wine UK.
92-94
2002 Scotchmans Hill Norfolk Vineyard, Geelong - more mature and rustic
nose leads to fuller meaty palate, pretty firm mouth-feel with powerful alcohol
yet fresh acid too; a little clumsy but the maturity adds style. £25, Andrew Browne.
87-89
2004 Giant Steps, Yarra Valley - gentle savoury oily Pinot notes,
richer concentration with dry tannins and firm acid in the mouth, powerful yet
nice elegant fruit too. 89
2004
Giant Steps Punt Road, Yarra Valley - more complex with herbal berry fruit
and smoky backdrop, very subtle oak; bigger and firmer yet has nice s+s style
and fresh clean finish. 90-92
2005
Innocent Bystander Pinot rosé, Yarra Valley -
fresh and herbal v 'sweeter' raspberry fruit, tight elegant palate with subtle
oomph v creamy fruit. 87
2005
Innocent Bystander, Yarra Valley - vibrant perfumed cherry fruit builds to
more savoury profile, ripe texture v some firm acidity and elegant finish.
87-89
Western Australia
2004 Plantagenet, Great Southern - more
perfumed s+s fruit leads on to lightly creamy silky mouth-feel, fairly soft with
a little weight and delicate fresh acidity; a bit short perhaps. £12,
Liberty Wine. 87
2004 Fonty's Pool, Pemberton - a bit more oak-forward yet still has
complex s+s tones, again elegant concentration with fresh acid length supported
by soft red and savoury fruit. £10, Boutinot. 87-89
South Australia
2004 Nepenthe Charleston, Adelaide Hills -
more floral style with subtle ripe red fruits and light tannin texture, very
fresh acidity means tight finish layered with s+s flavours and some alcohol
weight.
£9, Enotria Winecellars. 89-91
2003 Grosset, Adelaide Hills - seductive s+s nose, intricate aromas;
quite rich with light tannin structure, again shows elegant acidity and length v
power. £27, Liberty Wine. 92-94
Tasmania
2003 Pipers Brook Estate - the nose is a
little closed yet this reveals richer s+s fruit on the palate, more concentrated
and firmer too v fresh acidity and alcohol weight; lends power v finesse. £14, Boutinot.
91-93
2004 Pirie South Estate Pinot - smoky with nice s+s notes, meaty v cherry
fruit, closes up on the finish; could be v.good. 89
(By the way, this a new venture by Andrew Pirie, former owner of Pipers Brook
and one of the pioneers of Pinot in Tasmania.)
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