A couple of nights ago I had the opportunity to attend the first ever vertical tasting of Dave Mackintosh and Steve Flamsteed’s Salo wines alongside some of Dave’s work under his own Ar Fion label (“Our Wine” in Gaelic). The evening deserves a proper article but unfortunately I got so hung up enjoying the wines that I don’t think I can do the event justice. This Pinot from the Prices Ridge vineyard in Gladysdale still deserves a review.
It’s highly aromatic, sprightly and dexterous. Don’t go looking for waves of power or centres of mass. You’ll only find incisive angles, glacial acidity, herbal inflections and a veritable grid of mercurial lines resulting in nodal points; cherry blossom, cranberry, semi-sweet grapefruit amongst them. Rococo in its phenolic architecture with ornate, teasing tannin. I love it. Neoclassicism bores me shitless. 92
Region: Yarra Valley
Alcohol: 12.8%
Closure: Screwcap
Price: $35
Tasted: July 2013
‘Sprightly and dexterous’ sounds particularly appealing. Must try.
Here I was thinking you might have jumped at one of the nodes
It’s a really interesting wine, very much in the delicate Upper Yarra spectrum of Pinot. Tasted alongside the 2004 William Downie Pinot Noir & the 2011 Bicknell FC garage project Pinot and it still captured my attention. Worth tracking down the 2012 Ar Fion Field Blend too. It’s just entering its sweet spot. Tasty gear.
Ha. I was intrigued by glacial acidity – slow moving and carrying a load of rubble with it? Or retreating thanks to manmade forces?
Just icy cool