Dave Bicknell doesn’t think the Yarra Valley is ready for the idea of subregions yet. It’s his opinion that there simply aren’t enough vineyards planted in each “subregion” to make those sort of distinctions. These explorations of single sites aren’t really “for” his generation either. “When it comes to regions, subregions and single sites we’re just making a start…getting things underway. Remember they’ve had 2000 years in Burgundy whereas we’re sitting at about 35 years in the Yarra.” Nevertheless I’ll let you know that the Swallowfield vineyard lies in Gembrook and is the southern most commercial vineyard within the region.
This is the savoury member of the Local Vineyard Pinot family and it has the most significant tannin as well. An abundance of forest litter and earth. Black raspberries and darker cherry fruit. The oak feels a touch more prominent here. Those tannins are layered and weave their way through the line. More presence, power and body - a touch less finesse. 93
Region: Yarra Valley
Alcohol: 12.8%
Closure: Screwcap
Price:$38
Tasted: October 2013
Love this. This was my pick at a bench tasting with David at the start of the year.
On sub regions, I applaud something Steve Webber said on the same day. That when it comes to truly identifiable character, the Yarra has sites a lot more than it has sub regions. So nothing for me against calling out a sub regional locality on a multi vineyard Yarra wine, but it should be remembered that doing so provides a geographical reference, rather than a terroir specific set of characteristics. This is an overall region where you need a specific vineyard site to call out the latter.
Couldn’t agree more on subregions. An interesting wine this one. Loved it on day one – the tannic impact and the savouriness in particular – but by day three it had slipped down the pecking order. The rating comes from day three. I had it as high as 94+ on day one. Would be keen to see more of it as it matures.
Gutted you’ve come down on it then! This was our pick over the Guerin. Willow Lake is arguably the lightest in what I’d call “apparent weight”, but I loved its wealth of attractive perfume. Splitting hairs of course. As with Steve Flamsteed’s set, if someone gives you one as a gift, you’re a pedantic arse if you are too quick to suss out which one it is!
My bottle seems to have been rather prettier than yours was in October. Quite a bit of rosewater and raspberry. Oak not very obvious at all. Tannins are silty and woven neatly into the palate. On the issue of sub-regions, this looked very Gembrook-like to me! Though I think we’ve got a slightly different take on this wine, your rating seems more or less on the money. I’d score it no higher than 93, though I only gave it an hour or so in the decanter.
I think I prefer the 2012 Punt Road (cheaper) in terms of its flavour profile.
MC
There’s been some interesting takes on this wine across various sites and people Michael. Some have wished for more fruit presence, some have rated it more highly than me. This review at the Brunchalot blog is probably the closest to mine and it also mentions Gembrook
http://www.brunchalot.com/?p=802
while Campbell Mattinson’s over at The Wine Front may be closer to what you describe even though several readers remark on a disparate experience within the comments thread.
http://www.winefront.com.au/oakridge-local-vineyard-series-swallowfield-vineyard-pinot-noir-2012/
Whether this is bottle variation, palate variation or context is something I can’t imagine we’ll ever know. I did buy some of this to look at further down the track (maybe in three to four years). If I revisit it sooner I’ll be sure to add a comment, just as I’ll be keen to see how the wine tracks for others over time.
Guerin is bigger fruited, this one is more linear. The bulk of consumers will rightly prefer the former, whilst industry types almost universally prefer this. I know which style David Bicknell is more into.
We went with this one because as much as we had John Citizen potentially in the palm of our hands with Guerin, we wanted to make the brave decision to go with pedigree and structure over rich black fruit.
That all said, we were in love with the Guerin also.
For me this was more about savouriness and structural presence than fruitiness. I’ve got bottles of the Guerin and this so I may try to revisit them single blind during the week. The decision you collectively made did intrigue me Tony. Even though the I eventually scored the other 2012 Oakridge LVS Pinots a point higher, this was the wine that challenged me the most (and was the most difficult to put a number on). Generally that’s not a bad thing when it comes to the wines I want to have in my cellar.
I cannot argue the challenge of this wine. We had our most aristocratic / linear hat on that day, right or wrong. Given the wine is priced in the $30s and not north of $60-70, it was a punt, and not a decision of balance. Thankfully, it flew out the door.
One of the advantages of the more linear and un-giving styles of wines (apologies for a commercial comment here) is that they come with their own impressive array of formidable, driving adjectives.
Yes interesting divergence on this wine.
I thought (at the winery) that it was immediately the most appealing. Perhaps I should have hung around for 3 days
I ended up getting a few of each so it will be interesting to see which one I prefer down the track.
That being said cellar door tastings are a bit of a raffle. Went to Giant Steps with the idea of buying pinot and walked out with Chardonnay instead.
You may have been more uncertain after three days Paul. I was
As mentioned above, difficult to find a loser among both Oakridge and Giant Steps Pinots and Chardonnays in 2012.
Oh, I may have said I like the Swallowfield the least…but it is still a lovely wine! I’m not very good with points, but if the Willowlake is 95ish, then this (for me) would be a solid 93. Pretty reasonable price, I’d say…so the best idea may be to buy a few of each (I have!).
Simon
That’s what I did Simon. As for points, I use them as a simple additional semantic tool to record my reaction to the worth of a wine. Along with my tasting notes they allow me to look back and analyse the changes in my palate over time. They’re rather imprecise as far as I’m concerned. But so are words…
Slipped this into a single blind bracket of six 2012 Yarra Valley Pinots with Punt Road, Giant Steps Gladysdale, Mayer Bloody Hill, Oakridge Guerin and Hoddles Creek. Once again looked very savoury and structured but seemed to be drinking even better now. Certainly not a wine that I would describe as pretty nor about primary fruited juiciness. I’d go into bat for it, no hesitation at all.
So much impressive Pinot from the region in that vintage. Something for every taste or the chance to explore the diversity of sites and styles. Either way you win. For the record the Gladysdale was the wine of the bracket for me this time, closely followed by this Swallowfield.
Also, for those who don’t know, Oakridge’s “Guerin” Vineyard wines are from what is known on Giant Steps labels as Applejack.
I think this is a good Pinot, but for me it just lacked fruit definition/detail. In other words, I found that it was juicily red fruited, but, curiously, lacking a pure sense of a certain character. When paired with the tight, tangy and tannic quality of the palate it came across as slightly lacking depth and volume. Good wine and not far off the sweet spot for Pinot. I would be really keen to try some of the other 2012 releases in the LVS range.
Well worth seeking out the other 2012 Oakridge LVS Pinots even if this wasn’t quite your thing Knoxinus. Distinctly different personalities, each one of them and at the price I do consider them a bit of a steal.