Tag Archives: Pinot Noir

Domaine du Meix-Foulot Mercurey 1er Cru Clos du Château de Montaigu 2002

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Cheap Burgundy. I can see you shuddering from here.

A lovely orange-red Pinot colour, not especially dense. The nose is really appealing and quite youthful considering the wine’s age and modest status. Prickly mushroom and fresh red fruits, some sap and minerality as well. The whole is laid back, a comforting blanket of nougat oak underlining the fundamentally quiet, almost cuddly aroma profile.

The palate is similarly constructed: light, nimble, pleasing flavours and a distinct lack of aggression. Entry is brightly acidic, flavours starting at red fruit and moving through to a more complex mix on the middle palate, then turning quite savoury through the after palate and finish. It’s a lean flavour profile, focusing on astringency and savouriness rather than fullness of fruit. I like it, but can see that it would puzzle some. Certainly, it would be misleading to call this wine generous in any way, but in a sense that is its strength and charm. It caresses the palate so easily, with such little effort, that its relative lack of stuffing matters very little. Its pleasures are to be found in its ephemeral presence on the tongue, the clarity of its components and the way it never forces any of its points.

A delicious, refreshing Pinot for not a lot of money. I think it has a few years left in it too.

Domaine du Meix Foulot
Price: $A42
Closure: Cork
Source: Retail

Domaine Jean Tardy & Fils Fixin La Place 2006

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Ever chosen a wine because you liked its name? I was browsing through my “cellar” tonight, looking for pleasure, and came across a bottle of this. “Fixin,” I muttered to myself. What a funky village name. Equal parts slang and exoticism, I figured its catchiness was as good a reason as any to pop the cork. I have, in fact, pondered this wine before. It’s not a great wine by any means, and its value is questionable, but I still rather like it, perhaps even more in its slightly mellowed current form.

Largely, my earlier note remains valid. The nose is a curious mixture of the mellow and the coarse, lumbering nougat oak trampling over seductive, gamine red fruit. It’s the Noomi Rapace of Red Burgundy, petite frame disrupted by too-large boots and a generally put-on punkish demeanor. The palate is perhaps more attractive, and I especially enjoy the rough and tumble character of the tannin. Satin berries against spiky acid, sharp flavour atop blunt weight. This is, if nothing else, a clash of components and, whilst this could be read as a sign of coarseness, I find its discord exciting. The restraint I noted in my earlier impression has receded, and this is now flowing more freely than I remember. It’s all the more enjoyable for it.

Brash, clumsy and a good deal of fun.

Jean Tardy & Fils
Price: $A52
Closure: Cork
Source: Retail

Mitchell Harris Rosé 2011

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I’m not aware of any other Pinot Noir Sangiovese Rosés made of grapes sourced from the Pyrenees and Macedon Ranges – so this immediately scores points as a curio. It’s much more than a novelty though; this is a seriously tasty wine.

The nose immediately sets the tone with a nice hit of savoury, slightly funky musk and red berry fruit. One of the things I enjoy about dryer rosé styles is the wildness their aroma profiles can display. This isn’t a truly loose one, but there’s enough angularity to keep me happy, underpinned by plenty of clean, characterful fruit. This is a million miles from blandness.

The palate shows lively spritz and a nice level of flavour intensity. Entry is clean and cool, allowing flavours to crescendo towards the middle palate. It’s not a smack down sort of wine, but it’s very well balanced and is structured firmly enough to create some sizzle and impact. A little roundness from the after palate onwards suggests residual sugar, but it’s subtle and does not detract from the delicious savouriness that characterises the wine as a whole. A gentle, fruit-driven finish.

Really nice rosé with heaps of personality.

Mitchell Harris
Price: $A21.95
Closure: Stelvin
Source: Sample

Hoddles Creek Pinot Noir 2008

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Even if it’s unintentional, I pride myself on my reliability. The last time I tasted this wine, I gave it fairly short shrift and suggested I might taste it again in a year or two. Here I am, two years after that first tasting, sampling this little number again after quite randomly having selected it from my stash tonight.

The years have been kind. Where on release this was closed and quite gruff, it’s now able to express itself with more relaxation, even as it remains a highly textural, almost rustic experience. The nose thankfully avoids the sort of glossy fruit character that dodges criticism for lack of varietal definition but which is otherwise completely without value – in its place, there’s plush Pinot fruit, bundles of damp twigs and a rough whiff of vanilla. Also bacon fat, rotting white flowers and bubblegum. Not your typical $20 wine, then, and I can’t quite believe I’m getting so much out of a wine at this price point.

The palate is bold, intense and a bit rough. There’s no doubt, in an absolute sense, that a bit of extra refinement would be welcome, but I really can’t fault this wine on many levels: its impact, its concentration of flavour, its complex and savoury flavour profile. It registers with a nice slam of fruit flavour and progresses briskly through a middle palate full of expansive savoury berries and edgy, slightly hard vegetal notes. There’s still a way to go here before the wine sheds its aggressiveness; for now, you’ll need to put up with traces of overly firm structure on the after palate in particular. But why quibble when each mouthful offers up so much distinctive flavour?

Drink this with pungently flavoured food – Peking Duck, for example – to get the most from it right now. I’ll come back to this in about two to three years’ time. Promise.

Hoddles Creek
Price: $A20
Closure: Stelvin
Source: Retail

Waipara Hills Central Otago Pinot Noir 2009

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How quickly some things change. Only a very few years ago, to buy decent Central Otago Pinot Noir would almost inevitably put a serious dent into one’s wallet. Last time I visited the region, a couple of years ago now, I was heartened to see a lot more reasonably priced wines, still genuine expressions of the style. This wine isn’t exactly bargain basement, but at under $30 retail it sits comfortably in the mid-price bracket.

And, quality-wise, it fits solidly in this bracket too. There’s nothing remarkable about this wine at all and, though that may sound like a put-down, it’s simply a reflection of what it is: an accessible expression of Central Otago Pinot. To the last point first, the wine is true to type. The nose has a characteristic density of fruit that I associate with the region, along with a slightly dirty texture that roughens the aroma profile and lends it an edge. Thyme, dark biscuitty oak, hints of spice. It’s all there in a glossy, slick package.

The palate is similarly slick, structure in particular well-judged. In the earlier days, the region’s Pinots were often criticised for a coarseness of structure and an excess of extract; while this does taste fairly extracted, I’m not seeing an unbalanced structure, acid and tannin being present but not terribly intrusive. This, combined with a full-flavoured fruit profile, creates a lazy plushness that is alternately seductive and bland. This is so easygoing that, at times, I wish for more angularity, more edge. The reality is, though, that one probably needs to step up a rung to get the kind of character this wine suggests but never quite delivers on. As it is, a genuine taste of the region for, in historical terms, not very much money.

Waipara Hills
Price: $A29.90
Closure: Stelvin
Source: Sample

Giaconda Pinot Noir 2008

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As luck would have it, I’m enjoying my Easter long weekend in bed with a messy, feverish chest cold for company. Rather than attempt to taste wine in this condition, I thought I’d reflect on a bottle drunk a week or two ago. This was a gift from my ever-generous co-author Chris. I shall save the other bottle to taste with him, as I’d really like a second opinion here.

It’s clear this wine is all quality, with intensity, power and drive to spare. Stylistically, though, it raises an equally clear question: do these ostensibly desirable qualities contribute to drinkability? I’m not so sure. But first, my impressions of the wine itself. The nose is massively complex, even at a young age. The character of the fruit is alternately sweet/savoury, the Yarra component evident in what strikes me as a luscious, if somewhat blunt, slice of juicy fruit pie. There’s a good deal of oak here too, charry and bold. I was quite bowled over by this wine’s impact at first, and it took me a moment to realise I was being overpowered by the wine, pushed around and told what to do.

The palate is equally powerful and somewhat front-loaded in shape, with good acid and a lovely, drying chalky finish. Flavours echo the nose, with rhubarb and strawberries bursting through an underlay of savoury complexity and an overlay of glossy oak. Again, quite an overpoweringly awesome wine, but at the same time one that doesn’t encourage onward consumption. Indeed, one glass was quite enough, and though there’s no denying the skill and fruit at play, I ended up feeling slightly cornered.

Giaconda
Price: $NA
Closure: Stelvin
Source: Gift

Ocean Eight Aylward Pinot Noir 2010

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When attending a residential school for the course I’m doing, many wines are inevitably dragged out for tasting, some more interesting than others. Last night, they ranged from blandly commercial to full-throttle odd. This Pinot was the undoubted highlight of the evening’s selection, so I will write it up in full, noting that it’s not yet released and in fact has only been bottled for a month.

Cloudy in appearance, this is immediately savoury and dark on the nose, with stalk, edges of oak, bubblegum and marzipan, pinosity leaking from every pore. It’s complex and moody, and what I like most is the way the aroma profile draws you in despite what are some challenging and offbeat aroma components.

The palate is all over the place, which is understandable, but shows the hallmarks of a wine that will sing with time: power, intensity, drive and, most of all, length. The flavours balance a swell of sweet red berry fruit with a range of more savoury fruit notes and vegetal influences. It’s a very textural wine, partly due to some short-term CO2 and more interestingly through a good deal of acid, a big whack of slightly green tannins on the middle palate (stalk?) and a decent layer of puckery sweet fruit tannins on the finish. There’s minerality here too, just one of the many flavour components this wine throws into the mix.

This is exactly what I look for in Mornington Pinot — a broody, structured wine whose fruit shows an inherent complexity of flavour, and whose winemaking isn’t afraid to push the boundaries. Look out for this one.

Update: check out Andrew’s review over at the Australian Wine Review.

Ocean Eight
Price: $NA
Closure: Stelvin
Source: Other

Mitchell Harris Rosé 2010

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Another adventurous rosé, this time from Victorian producer Mitchell Harris. This is a multi-region blend of unusual varieties; Pinot Noir from the Macedon Ranges and Sangiovese from the Pyrenees. This might seem a bit of a hodge-podge but for the fact that both regions tend towards boutique production and the price of this wine is anything but low-end. At $22 or thereabouts, it sits firmly in the “serious rosé” price bracket.

Quite a pale colour, more like dilute strawberry than salmon. The nose is controlled, with layers of piercing spice, pale red fruit and slightly muskier notes. It’s getting noticeably more complex the longer it sits in the glass, with some feral earthy notes adding depth and texture to the aroma profile. Ends up savoury and quite singular, with some juicy rough edges.

In the mouth, a bit more relaxed than suggested by the nose, with some fruit sweetness to temper the more angular elements of the flavour profile. I like this wine’s structure very much; the acid seems right and there’s some lightly drying texture through the after palate. There’s also a pleasing sense of fullness here that does not come at the expense of brisk movement through the mouth. What’s challenging is the set of flavours; they veer from sweet cherries to wet leaves and back. There’s a sense of boisterousness verging on disorganisation in how they present. Yet it’s so flavoursome and fun, I keep wanting to take another sip.

Really interesting wine that communicates a sense of exploration and seriousness in the context of a style that is, ostensibly, all about mindless enjoyment.

Mitchell Harris
Price: $A21.95
Closure: Stelvin
Source: Sample

De Bortoli Yarra Valley La Bohème Act Two Dry Pinot Rosé 2010

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Act Two in my own De Bortoli 2010 rosé notes, having yesterday tasted the Estate edition. This is altogether less fine a wine, but to my mind meets a different need. A few bucks cheaper too.

The nose is slightly feral, with firmly savoury fruit and a wildly aromatic bent that some dry rosés can show. I tend to like such aroma profiles and don’t mind some vulgarity, though here there’s enough density to temper the sharper aromas. With some time and a bit of air, some cuddlier aromas begin to emerge; slightly simple red fruit flavours and a bit of sap. All in all, an interesting nose.

The palate is less chiselled and precise than the Estate wine. It place of the latter’s clear delineation of flavours, this wine shows robust, more softly generous fruit and bouncy texture. Although there are some sweet raspberries lurking in there, the dominant flavours are again savoury in character. My main criticism of this wine is that its flavours lack definition; each thread blurs into the next and compromises an overall impression of freshness. Acid provides bubbly texture through the after palate in particular, while flavours take off in a crushed leaf and fresh red berry direction.

This seems to be De Bortoli’s interpretation of an accessible rosé style. Like the Estate wine, it emphasises savouriness and texture, but offers a less sophisticated and in many respects more accessible flavour profile.

De Bortoli
Price: $A18
Closure: Stelvin
Source: Sample

De Bortoli Yarra Valley Estate Pinot Noir Rosé 2010

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The back label parenthetically describes this wine as “pale and dry.” They’re not kidding. This is a daring wine and one that may defy many drinkers’ expectations of rosé.

A very pale salmon colour, this gives off a range of angular, fragrant aromas. Peach skins, light plum juice, minerals, pink flowers. This is far from a sweet style, yet there’s a hint of icing sugar peeping out from amongst all the straight-faced seriousness that is making me smile. It’s a cheeky nod to rosé’s typical function as a refreshing, accessible drink, and here it works to draw you in past what might be a forbidding level of savouriness. Overall, the aroma is moderately expressive, neither too flouncy nor irritatingly reticent.

The palate, however, shows a degree of power that isn’t really suggested by the nose.This is a serious wine, to be sure. There’s a nice fleshy fullness in the mouth that accentuates red fruit and rosehip notes, and which is balanced out by tart, firm acid. Structurally, this wine is full of interest and I especially like the hit of chalky, dry texture through the after palate. This dimension is so enjoyable that I’m prompted to wonder whether a more extreme approach to texture, with additional lees work or even some barrel action, would yield an even more interesting style. No matter, there’s lots of satisfaction here. Good drive through the line and a very satisfying, lightly candied finish.

Fascinating wine.

De Bortoli
Price: $A24
Closure: Stelvin
Source: Sample