Brown Brothers have sold the Whitlands vineyard in the King Valley. It’s the site that has always produced the grapes for this wine and with great success in the past. A blend of 79% Pinot Noir and 21% Chardonnay with all of the base wines undergoing malolactic fermentation. Five years total on lees.
No mistaking this as anything other than Pinot dominant. Toasty, rich aromas of red berries, black currant-like notes, croissants, almonds and hazelnuts with spiced baked apples in the background. Full and creamy in the mouth with the sense of fruit sweetness met by vegemite strength yeastiness and honeycomb on the back-palate. More about power than finesse. It feels a little too compact and blunt with the acidity down on previous releases. Noticeable phenolics increase the impression of stubbiness rather than enhancing the wine texturally. Look, it’s far from a poor result but it hasn’t maintained the lofty standards I’ve come to expect. 89
Region: King Valley
Alcohol: 13.0%
Closure: Cork
Price: $45
Tasted: April 2014