Winemaker Notes
A savory, complex nose. Dark black macerated cherries, roasted meat juices, soy and star anise. Subtle sandalwood, rosemary and sage, blood orange and cloves. On the palate, bright, dark cherry fruit, with a hint of blood orange, thyme and rosemary, savory, meaty, soy, roast mushroom and truffle. Long and firmly structured but elegant.
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
Perfumed and savory, with aromas of dark cherries, forest floor, dried strawberries, blackberry bush and cassia bark. The palate is medium-bodied with fine tannins and a plush, textural mouthfeel. Such a lovely pinot with tension and grit.
Thin-skinned, finicky and temperamental, Pinot Noir is also one of the most rewarding grapes to grow and remains a labor of love for some of the greatest vignerons in Burgundy. Fairly adaptable but highly reflective of the environment in which it is grown, Pinot Noir prefers a cool climate and requires low yields to achieve high quality. Outside of France, outstanding examples come from in Oregon, California and throughout specific locations in wine-producing world. Somm Secret—André Tchelistcheff, California’s most influential post-Prohibition winemaker decidedly stayed away from the grape, claiming “God made Cabernet. The Devil made Pinot Noir.”
Extending into the sea from just south of the city of Melbourne to form Port Philip Bay in the southern state of Victoria, the Mornington Peninsula grape growing region naturally has a cool, maritime climate. A wide range of soils and topographic variations support a large diversity of wine styles within the small headland.