More than a few people expressed doubts when Brian Croser released his first Pinot Noir from the Foggy Hill Vineyard on the Fleurieu Peninsula. South Australian Pinot isn’t exactly a common commodity and apart from a few efforts from the Adelaide Hills the state has seldom produced expressions of any great worth. Vines here are planted on a northwest facing slope at 300 to 350 metres (ASL) at Parawa, the highest point of the Fleurieu Peninsula. The soils are free draining and the climate is distinctly maritime.
Surprisingly pale in the glass but there’s an intensity to the red cherry and blackberry fruit. The entry is sweet but the midpalate sees rhubarb, graphite mineral notes and earthen characters provide a foil. Quite a bit of smoky, toasty oak frames the wine but the balance is there. The finish is spicy and dusty. Structurally speaking, fine acidity and extremely delicate tannins should see this evolve very well indeed. The site is already beginning to deliver the goods. 93 Very Good
Region: Fleurieu Peninsula
Alcohol: 13.2%
Closure: Screwcap
Price: $47
Tasted: February 2013
Had the 12 out of barrel the other week. As D:Ream sung back in the 90s ‘things can only get better, can only get better’.
Seems there’s definitely an upward trajectory at play here