The first bottle of this, reviewed here, exhibited a strong stink which never departed over a couple of days. I won’t try to guess what the issue was. That’s best left for laboratories. Wine reviewers are better suited to tasting what’s in front of them and describing it, at least most of the time. Anyway, I appreciated O’Leary Walker sending another bottle. There was no such issue this time round.
In true Adelaide Hills style it’s big for a Pinot. It smells and tastes of cherries and yellow fleshed plums, meat and dwindling camp fires. The palate is stuffed full of powerful fruit and the acidity sits high in the mix. Lots of assertive tannin. I don’t think there’s a lot of Pinosity or complexity here. To be fair, I’ve never been convinced of the synergy between the variety and the region so feel free to take that into account. A sound wine. 87
Region: Adelaide Hills
Alcohol: 14.0%
Closure: Screwcap
Price: $22
Tasted: August 2013
Jeremy, I’m a bit of a newcomer to pinot having been brought up in the shiraz school of thought. I’ve bought a few Adelaide Hills pinots in the last couple of weeks and wonder if you mind suggesting a Australian pinot in the $30 to $50 range I could use as a benchmark to taste against a few other pinots from not only the Hills, but also from around the country? Obviously personal preferences come into it but it would be an interesting experience.
Bob – a few off the top of my head: 2012 Mayer Bloody Hill, 2012 Giant Steps Applejack Vineyard (although you could easily go the Gladysdale or the Sexton Vineyards) and even though these are under $30 it’s worth mentioning the 2012 Hoddles Creek, the 2012 Journey Wines and the 2012 Oakridge Over the Shoulder. That’s a few current releases from the Yarra Valley.
From the Mornington Peninsula I’d look at the 2010 Kooyong Estate, the 2012 Circe Pinot and also Mooroduc (I think their 2012s are just about to be released and they have a good track record). If you want to include something a little bigger then a Paringa Estate Pinot might be worth a look.
From Macedon the 2010 Curly Flat is a good bet as is the 2012 Bindi Composition Pinot. Heading over to Tasmania, the 2011 Bay of Fires is a ripper and the Stefano Lubiano Pinots are generally very good. Under $30 but ridiculously good value are the 2011/2012 Last Horizon Pinots. Geelong deserves consideration as well. I’d look at the 2010 Lethbrdige if you can find it.
Of course that’s not an exhaustive list but hopefully it gives you a few options and a place to start.
Cheers
J