Pinot meunier. For all the dazzling success of Champagne, its most planted grape is accorded little of the acclaim. Almost none. While they ride on the broad shoulders of meunier, the garlands go to the glamour couple of chardonnay and pinot noir. But meunier has more to offer. In Australia, though the output is extremely modest at best, the grape has a meaningful place as a quality grape for red wine production. With so many old vineyards originally planted with meunier for sparkling production in this country, perhaps the silver lining to global warming could be that – given the numbers of those deep-rooted treasures – there’s even further reason to see more meunier made as a still red wine.
…And frankly, the wine world would be a bit duller if all we could drink was pinot – which is how things can feel in certain places at times. As Cindy Lauper said, “I see your true colours, and that’s why I love you. So don’t be afraid to let them show your true colours. True colours are beautiful, like a rainbow.”
We gathered every Australian pinot meunier (made as a still red wine) that we could find and set our expert panel the task of finding the wines that compelled the most. All wines were tasted blind, and each panellist named their top six wines. Below are the wines that made the panellists’ top six from the tasting.
Our panel: Chris Ryan, Senior Wine Buyer, Trader House Group; Matthew Jensen, Group Sommelier, Farmer’s Daughters; Gilles Lapalus, owner and winemaker Maison Lapalus, Bertrand Bespoke and Maidenii; Justin Purser, winemaker; Ellie Ash, sommelier; Michael Aylward, Ocean Eight winemaker; Gabriella Rush, retail professional; and Sophie Darling, Darling Estate winemaker.
This was the top wine for Jensen, with Ash and Purser placing it top two, Ryan and Rush top three, and Aylward and Lapalus also placing it in their top six lists. “A paler tone of red/magenta, yet brightly hued,” noted Purser. “Deeply scented with rich red cherry, raspberry and a pinch of mint. A splash of toasted oak checks the fruit.” “First punch of fragrance was vanilla and asphalt with the more obvious cherries and strawberries taking a back seat,” added Rush. “The nose expresses mostly floral and a little bit of fruit odours,” said Lapalus. “My mind immediately goes to red lollies, snakes and raspberries in particular, a watermelon like tinge to it as well,” said Jensen. “This wine was all about elegance and perfume,” commented Ash. “Pure, bright red fruits including raspberry, red currant, cherry, rhubarb and vibrant florals of violet and dried rose petals. Silky and understated, a wine that continued to reveal itself the more time it spent in the glass.” “A little more concentration than others in the lineup but stays delicate with some supporting structure the others were missing,” wrote Ryan. “This was the most flavoured of the range with darker fruits,” declared said ward.
2023 Best’s ‘Young Vine’ Pinot Meunier, Great Western $45 RRP
This was Aylward’s wine of the day, with Ryan and Lapalus including in as their second top wine, and it also making the top six selections for Darling and Ash. “The nose is quite intense, dominated by ripe cherry fruit,” wrote Lapalus. “The mouthfeel starts with a creamy texture followed by a vinous sensation indicating a relatively powerful wine supported by soft tannin. The grapes were certainly at optimal ripeness delivering again the fruity aroma encountered on the nose.” “It was exotic and very perfumed that travelled right through the senses,” said Aylward. “Really pretty aromas, macerated strawberry, red cherries, pomegranate, bright crunchy fruit,” noted Ryan. “Slightly confected but succulent pure fruit, simple in a way but delicious. No distracting oak, just pure fruit a great summer wine. There’s a simplicity to the wine with a real sense of refreshment, good candidate for a slight chill. Moreish.” “The nose was subtle to start and opened up with black cherry and a slightly jubey character with a secondary savory notes of dry earth,” commented Darling. “Lively and perfumed with tart red fruits, sour cherry, red currants and cranberry. Fragrant jasmine, marigold and earl grey tea also feature,” wrote Ash. “Held together with tart acidity and fine tannins, this is a wine that is moreish and so very drinkable.”
2023 Sawyer Pinot Meunier, Adelaide Hills $40 RRP
This was the top wine for Lapalus, with it rounding our Jensen’s top three list, and Purser, Rush and Darling including it in their top six selections. “A beautifully bouqueted Meunier of earthy and sweet spices like caraway seeds, cloves, star anise, sage, violets and strawberry jam,” noted Rush. “Deep and dark red fruits on the nose moving towards purple fruits,” commented Darling. “The nose has a good intensity with a mix of wild red fruits fruit and tertiary gamey notes, reminding of some Coteaux Champenois,” said Lapalus. “The mouthfeel confirms the lighter style with fine tannin, a vinous structure, vanilla spice aromatics on top of the fruit and a long finish. This wine is complex with a lightness but great length and aromatic complexity.” “One of the more savoury expressions of the day, it was meaty with a bresaola like quality to it, framed by red pepper and menthol,” declared Jensen. “Bright ripe red cherries with watermelon and cranberry rounded out the palate. If the word moreish was invented for a wine, this wouldn’t be out of place next to it in the dictionary.” “The pale crimson colour with a slight haze gives a clue to the style of this wine,” wrote Purser. “The meaty, cut rock reduction and watermelon mixed with herbal spice confirm it. Yet this is the start of something more. Red roses, woody spices and a pure extract of red fruits roll through the soft savoury tannins. Depth and presence here.”
2022 Best’s ‘Old Vine’ Pinot Meunier, Great Western $125 RRP
This was the top wine on the day for Ryan and Ash, with Lapalus also including it in his top three. “My favourite of all the pinot meunier, the wine has this alluring deep purple hue and the aromatics were jumping out of the glass,” declared Ash. “Blueberry, black cherry, roasted strawberries with savoury hints of anise and damp autumn leaves. The firm structure crept up on the palate with grippy, sappy tannins that continued to unfold. A serious meunier.” “The nose starts with great intensity on the floral spectrum, followed by ripe fruit and a touch of refreshing menthol,” wrote Lapalus. “The first impression in the mouth is of a serious wine with a soft attack, full texture and a strong structure. The softness of the texture is reinforced by a relatively low acid balanced by fine tanin and the length is supported by a touch of oaky aroma. An ambitious wine which need a bit of time.” “More colour concentration whilst staying light and bright ruby,” noted Ryan. “Fruit stays red but moves into riper red fruit: ripe raspberry and strawberry. There’s some mid palate concentration and impression of sweet spice and the feeling of oak tannins frames the riper red fruits. Shows more extraction and winemaking than others but is successful in a pinot noir like style. This is a wine of intention that will continue to improve comfortably for 5-10 years.”
This was Purser and Darling’s top wine of the tasting, while it was also among the top six selections for Aylward and Ash. “A deep pool of crimson invites you in and the intoxicating aromas don’t disappoint,” noted Purser. “Five spice, dried roses, violets, cut rock, pure dark cherry, blood orange, roast hazelnuts and a snap of dried twigs. The palate sings in harmony with the bouquet – bright red cherry, blood orange and fresh hops. A savoury edge of oak and tannin hones the long and pure line of fruit. This wine will age well, and it cries out to be drunk with food. Crispy soy roasted pork belly?” “Savoury notes of an autumnal forest floor covered in a layer of yellow leaves along with dark red fruit,” said Darling. “The palate grew gently with black cherry. Tannin was gentle, persistent and delicious.” “This was a dense, brooding Meunier showcasing a lush texture and dark fruits,” wrote Ash. “Bramble, plum, stewed raspberries with dried rosemary, acacia and mushroom. Certainly a wine that wants to be consumed with a rich jus and perhaps duck leg and chicory.”
This was in second top spot on Darling’s list, with it being in the top three wines for Aylward and Ash, while it rounded out Lapalus’ top six list. “Deep garnet ruby in colour and stunning to admire in the glass,” Darling stated. “The nose had intensely bright lifted cherry and a hint of concentrated bramble and raspberry leaf.” “Some impressive winemaking decisions in this wine with carbonic aromatics of boiled red lollies and strawberry yogurt,” wrote Ash. “Flinty, mineral characters underlying with chalky tannins overlaying. Great generosity on the palate with lean acid that’s asking to be drunk chilled, with white anchovies and salty charcuterie.” “Indeed, the nose is a little bit carbonic,” concurred Lapalus. “With red fruit notes, a slight stemmy influence, and finishing with a patriotic touch of Vegemite! The wine is on the light side but has plenty to offer with a balanced acidity, fine texture and very fresh red fruit aromas indicating a ‘primeur’ style. Vin de soif.” While Aylward suggested, “The savoury edge to this wine cried out for some food and I thought a caramelized pork hock like the ones you get in Vietnamese dishes would be a great match.”
This was in the top two of Aylward’s list, while Rush and Ash also placed it in their top selections. “This was vibrant in the glass, squeeky clean, with bright red hues,” said Aylward. “This had more spices on the nose than fruits, with a savoury cranberry spice character that was particularly alluring.” “On the nose it was like stepping into a cinema candy bar with creamy vanilla coke, red frogs, strawberries and cream, raspberries and sweet cherries,” suggested Rush. “It all came together with a contrasting pepper spice and hint of smokiness to calm all that sweet fruit. Delightfully fun with great refreshing acidity.” “Cool fruited and unassuming with fresh raspberries and alpine strawberries with granitic minerality,” wrote Ash. “Think morning sunshine hitting a snow-capped mountain. The wine was bright and alluring in the glass with fresh herbal hints of chervil and dill.” “Would work well with a spicy quail dish,” concluded Aylward.
2019 Iron Pot Bay Vineyard Pinot Meunier, Tasmania $38 RRP
This was the wine of the day for Rush, with Jensen and Purser also including it among their top selections. “The Burgundy hue indicates this wine might be a little bit older,” noted Purser. “The lifted herbal and meaty aromatics mingle with the tailored oak and matured red fruits. The savoury morello cherry flavours and rich extract roll onwards with a line of intensity.” “The wine which showcased all the sides of meunier the best,” declared Jensen. “Tons of flavours to work through, with rhubarb, beetroot, white pepper all surrounding the more traditional cherry and raspberry notes. What made it memorable though was its length – it really lingered.” “I adored the tart, sour cherry, currant and savoury charcuterie smells that had me salivating immediately with the first swirl,” said Rush. “Some serious hints of tobacco and gunpowder to this momentous meunier. The mid palate lifted with its juicy acid and the finish was dark cherries, hot dark chocolate and cinnamon. Flavours lingered long after it had left my lips. All class.”
2023 Nomads Garden ‘Evans Vineyard’ Pinot Meunier, King Valley $27 RRP
Jensen had this in second top spot while it rounded out the top selections for Darling. “I can only describe it as a sommelier’s dream to sell as it contains all the buzz words we like to use!” began Jensen. “It’s bright and lifted on the nose, it’s got great length on the palate. Sour red cherries, raspberry and rhubarb, framed by soft silky tannins. Out of all the meunier I tasted today, this would be my favourite food wine, especially with duck.” “A wonderfully savoury nose of forest floor, mushrooms, cranberry, and a subtle hint of spice, noted Darling. “The palate shows leather, ash, raspberry bush and a masterful use of stem giving spice to the palate that is balanced perfectly as part of the overall experience in the glass. It’s so easy for this character to become overpowering or stick out in the glass but it is crafted well in this wine and is in perfect harmony with fruit, tannin and acid. There is a lot of finesse in this wine.
This wine rounded out the top selections for Jensen and Purser. “The best balance between all of the different elements you expect from meunier and the closest I saw today to its more famous pinot cousin,” stated Jensen. “Cherries of both colours, menthol and eucalypt as well as hints of cured meats. It had a certain natural funk to it as well, the sort of funk that would make you stand out in a good way on the dance floor though!” “ A multi-faceted ruby colour with lifted sappy aromas of red flowers, brooding spices of clove, mint and anise,” noted Purser. “The sour red cherry fruit is satisfyingly crunchy and leads on to succulent tannins that refresh and flow through the palate. Drink young and fresh, slightly chilled.”
Both Lapalus and Purser included this among their top selections from the tasting. “Some floral notes on the nose” Lapalus described. “In the mouth, the wine is pinot-like and the texture supported by elegant tannins giving a good length. A timid wine at first but it has good potential. Certainly at ease as a lunch wine.” Purser wrote: “Vibrant pearlescent red. Lifted and layered fragrances of red cherry, red plum and blood orange are backed up with some attractive oak. The intense red fruit flavours plunge into soft but persistent tannins.”
“This felt sophisticated where structure was so cleverly integrated that the present tannin and acid was all in check,” said Rush, palcing this as her second top wine for the day. “The nose was a distant memory of delicious meals from other parts of the world like a tagine of dates, cinnamon, ginger and bay leaves permeating the tender gamey meat. I wrote ‘butter chicken’ as an attempt to explain yoghurt creaminess and game on the palate. Generous and velvety, absolutely food wine.”
2022 Fitz and Gibbon Pinot Meunier, Piccadilly Valley, Adelaide Hills $38 RRP
“Really pretty and bright,” wrote Ryan, placing this in his top four wines. “With red cherry and red currants, the fruit profile is just ripe – almost tart. Quite simple with that crunchy pure fruit but a wine of high drinkability. A red wine that would sit very comfortably alongside fatty fish, like salmon or ocean trout.”
Australian Pinot Meunier – The Backstory
Pinot meunier. For all the dazzling success of Champagne, its most planted grape is accorded little of the acclaim. Almost none. While they ride on the broad shoulders of meunier, the garlands go to the glamour couple of chardonnay and pinot noir. But meunier has more to offer. In Australia, though the output is extremely modest at best, the grape has a meaningful place as a quality grape for red wine production. With so many old vineyards originally planted with meunier for sparkling production in this country, perhaps the silver lining to global warming could be that – given the numbers of those deep-rooted treasures – there’s even further reason to see more meunier made as a still red wine.
…And frankly, the wine world would be a bit duller if all we could drink was pinot – which is how things can feel in certain places at times. As Cindy Lauper said, “I see your true colours, and that’s why I love you. So don’t be afraid to let them show your true colours. True colours are beautiful, like a rainbow.”
Pinot meunier, the grape
Meunier is the French word for miller, which references the fine white hairs that are present on the underside of the leaves, resembling a dusting of flour. Historically it was known as Miller’s Burgundy in Australia. Pinot meunier is a mutation. The grape flesh resembles pinot gris and pinot noir genetically, but the skin belongs to meunier alone. This makes the grape a chimera, botanically. The reliability of meunier to ripen in cooler conditions is due to its propensity to bud later and also ripen earlier, which means it avoids some of the perils that extreme weather can bring. By avoiding issues at flowering, more berries are brought to maturity, and with earlier ripening, there’s less chance of issues at harvest. It tends to retain good acidity, too, while also achieving similar sugar (and therefore alcohol) levels as pinot noir. It typically has lower tannin levels, and doesn’t quite have the detail of pinot noir, with flavours typically in the red berry spectrum.
Opposite and above: pinot meunier at Best’s. Meunier is the French word for miller, which references the fine white hairs that are present on the underside of the leaves, resembling a dusting of flour. Best’s have the world’s oldest pinot meunier vines
The workhorse of Champagne
Pinot meunier. For all the dazzling success of Champagne, its most planted grape is accorded little of the acclaim. Almost none. While they ride on the broad shoulders of meunier, the garlands go to the glamour couple of chardonnay and pinot noir.
Pinot meunier has long been the workhorse, a variety that is a reliable producer in the more difficult years, and on the cooler north-facing slopes, ripening more reliably and earlier, while retaining nervy acidity at good sugar levels. It was not traditionally seen to have the regal cast of pinot noir, nor the grace of chardonnay, but it was essential for bringing wine to bottle.
Historically, this reliability saw it become one of France’s most planted varieties, with it occupying significant vineyard space in the north. And while that contribution has been diminished over time, it still is one of the country’s more heavily planted varieties – the success of Champagne sees to that.
And while most famous Champagne houses employ meunier, with icons such as Krug championing it, its input remains anonymous to all but the most trained palates. Pinot meunier has, however, been bottled as a standalone cuvee more and more frequently, with some producers focusing on it entirely. These are mainly grower producers (Récoltant-Manipulant – makers that only work with estate-grown fruit), rather than the major houses, who assemble from far and wide to achieve consistent blends.
It’s as though Cindy Lauper was reaching for pinot meunier when she sang True Colours.
For a small grower who only has pinot meunier vines or dominant plantings and wants to make wine only from their own vines… well, that means it will be meunier or meunier dominant. But though this program may have begun as a function of necessity, the results have been somewhat spectacular. Producers like Jérôme Prévost, notably with his ‘La Closerie’ from his Les Béguines vineyard, have shown what a compelling grape it can be.
Meunier’s true colours shining through
But outside of Champagne, and of sparkling wine in general, meunier has taken the lead in few places, and then typically to make quite simple wines. It crops up in Germany, and to a limited degree in Switzerland, but the new-world plantings are predominantly made for sparkling production, emulating the Champagne blend. And while that may be true of Australia too, its origins in this country predate sparkling wine production. In fact, Australia has one of the few real lineages of meunier as a grape for still wine, and that history is a long one, and almost entirely attributed to Great Western stalwart Best’s.
“The viticultural challenge for making meunier as a red wine is competing with sparkling wine production. You could say the same thing for chardonnay and pinot noir, but then down the line, meunier’s potential price is probably a little bit limited when selling bottled wine to consumers. Most meunier is seen as a fun, light to medium-bodied, fruity dry red… you probably don’t have the capacity to achieve pinot noir prices at the top end.”
Pinot meunier came to Australia as part of the Busby collection in 1831. And while Busby may be responsible for much of the vine material in the country, some also point to Swiss immigrants who pioneered viticulture in the Geelong region, crediting them with also bringing meunier on the voyage across the seas. Best’s sourced cuttings from one of these vineyards in the 1850s, planting their still extant vines in 1868.
The most famous of these, the Suisse Vineyard, now known as Neuchatel, was established in the 1840s and was one of the largest contributors to winegrowing in the Geelong region, until it was wiped out by phylloxera by the 1890s. Well, all but for a lone surviving chasselas vine (an indigenous Swiss variety), which still crosses the doors of the historic stables. More ornament than anything else, but still it is the lone vitis vinifera vine left from those early plantings. It is not known if Best’s cuttings came from the Suisse Vineyard specifically, but it is not unlikely. (In 2018, not far from Neuchatel, a new vineyard was established by Barwon Ridge winery to celebrate that history, and fittingly it has been planted to pinot meunier from cuttings sourced from Best’s oldest vines. A return to origins, it seems.)
It’s worth reflecting on that great repository of history that is at Best’s. Amongst those original 1868 plantings there are some 40 varieties in the ground, from the noble to some that are closer to table grapes. The oldest dolcetto vines in the world are at Best’s, as are the oldest pinot meunier vines. Unusual records to hold for an isolated vineyard in country Victoria, but there you have it.
Probably the world’s most significant mono-varietal pinot meunier made as a still wine is Best’s ‘Old Vine’, which comes off 150-year-old vines.
Five Decades of Best's Pinot Meunier
Today, meunier is still largely earmarked for sparkling production. Wine Australia’s Annual Vintage Report registers just shy of 800 tonnes of pinot meunier crushed in 2019, with the bulk concentrated in Tasmania, the King Valley, the Adelaide Hills and the Yarra Valley. These regions all make a bit of sparkling wine, but the report excludes regions that crush under 1000 tonnes, so Henty, in Victoria’s south-west, is excluded, and it certainly is responsible for some fine examples of still meunier. We’re a long way from ploughing a deep furrow with pinot meunier in Australia, but there are now enough notable bottles – from makers ranging from the established to the avant-garde – around these days to warrant a deep dive into the grape in the Australian context.
The viticulture conundrum
Winemaker Michael Downer, who worked at Best’s before returning to the family business of Murdoch Hill, had two Murdoch Hill pinot meuniers in our previous Deep Dive five years ago, but he hasn’t made the style since 2021. The vineyard he sourced from changed hands, and he hasn’t been able to find an alternative meunier source with the quality characteristics he’s chasing because vineyards for meunier are almost all viticulturally managed with the intent for sparkling wine production.
“It was a beautiful vineyard with mature old meunier vines, on lean soils that restricted the yield and made some fabulous pinot meunier,” says Downer. “I explored other vineyards, but they never quite had the depth of fruit and structure that I was seeing from that previous vineyard site.”
He continued, “The other growers I went to were pushing yields and it wasn’t sitting right with me. We have toyed with the idea of putting some of our own meunier vines in our vineyards.”
Above: Best’s is synonymous with Great Western in Victoria’s Grampians, and its Concongella vineyard is home to one of the world’s most precious resources of pre-phylloxera grapevines, containing some of the oldest vines of their type in the world. Opposite: Michael Downer at hia Murdoch Hill winery in the Adelaide Hills.
It illustrates the conundrum for meunier as a red: while there are significant plantings of the variety with old vines and their deep roots that are typically treasured for wines that transmit a sense of terroir, it is almost all destined for sparkling wine where the viticultural approach is different to that of quality red winegrowing.
The yields for growers are greater for sparkling wines; grapes are picked earlier; labour is less intensive. On the consumer side, it’s hard to market a red meunier for the same prices that pinot noir can command.
“The viticultural challenge for making meunier as a red wine is competing with sparkling wine production. You could say the same thing for chardonnay and pinot noir, but then down the line, meunier’s potential price is probably a little bit limited when selling bottled wine to consumers. Most meunier is seen as a fun, light to medium-bodied, fruity dry red… you probably don’t have the capacity to achieve pinot noir prices at the top end.”
Downer concluded, “To make it into a dry red requires a specialist producer to have their hand in the viticulture side of things to make sure the yield’s not too big; the picking decisions are made correctly; the hand labour of shoot thinning to open the canopy and get more sunlight onto the fruit… all these viticultural elements to get pinot meunier to ripen and have depth of flavour of fruit and structure to make a beautiful free-flowing expression. I really think it comes down to winemakers having a hand in viticulture to make sure the fruit is destined to make a dry red, rather than just going, ‘There’s a sparkling vineyard with a bit of pinot meunier there – let’s pick that and try and make a wine out of it.’”
Outtakes from the tasting
We gathered every Australian pinot meunier (made as a still red wine) that we could find and set our expert panel the task of finding the wines that compelled the most. All wines were tasted blind, and each panellist named their top six wines. Below are the outtakes from the discussion at the tasting.
Our panel: Chris Ryan, Senior Wine Buyer, Trader House Group; Matthew Jensen, Group Sommelier, Farmer’s Daughters; Gilles Lapalus, owner and winemaker Maison Lapalus, Bertrand Bespoke and Maidenii; Justin Purser, winemaker Purser Wines; Ellie Ash, sommelier; Michael Aylward, Ocean Eight winemaker; Gabriella Rush, retail professional; and Sophie Darling, Darling Estate winemaker.
Purser made pinot meunier from some the oldest vines in the world for several years when at Bests Great Western. He opened the discussion, sharing some of his insight. “Who would have thought, it’s such a solid variety for a red wine. I think about my days back at Best’s when Viv Thomson had a visiting Champenoise in the winery and he was talking about sparkling wine – and this is back in the 50s and 60s, where when Great Western was famous for making sparkling wine but it was mainly made out of mediocre varieties – he (the visiting Campenoise) said, ‘We think of pinot meunier in Champagne like a weed. It’s like a sultana.’ And ironically, most of the sparkling at Great Western in those days was made of sultana grapes! But it’s come around and, certainly, you see that interesting factor that makes pinot meunier unique: it almost sits between pinot noir and gamay in a way – it’s got those sort of aromatics that you see in pinot noir, it has some of that sweet cherry fruit, but it doesn’t quite have the structure of pinot noir, but it’s got this lovely plush sort of finesse about it that seems to age really well, so it’s great to sort of taste those wines and see that freshness and vibrancy coming through in wines we tasted today.”
“The breadth of wines on show was quite remarkable, I was expecting it to be a lot more homogenous than it actually was. It was really interesting looking at how different a few of them are.”
Opposite: Chris Ryan and Gilles Lapalus. Above: Sophie Darling and Mike Aylward.
“There doesn’t seem to be a rule about how to make pinot meunier, which kind of makes it really interesting – people are finding their own way with it.”
Lapalus turned to Purser and replied, “The parallel is you’re always drawn to is pinot noir and gamay, but today I saw some nebbiolo in one of them as well. There’s always that line like this, in this fruit. I was surprised today with the tannin level – very fine tannins, but the quite persistent in most wines. Not all of them, but certainly in quite a lot them: fine tannin, which is nice to see because that’s – I think that’s something in Australia that people are more scared of – and it’s really good to see that.”
Ash also remarked that the tannins helped define the quality of the wines today: “It’s interesting to see a variety that’s extremely subtle. I thought the quality level was extremely high. The structure was something that really stuck out to me. Looking at meunier, and not expecting not to see that sort of level of silky of tannins in there, but finding that there was a great line that was drawn across all the examples.”
Jensen then chimed in with what struck him, turning to the flavour profiles of the wines, “the breadth of wines on show was quite remarkable, I was expecting it to be a lot more homogenous than it actually was. It was really interesting looking at how different a few of them are. The tasting markers you go through from wine to wine: you can pull out your red fruits, you can pull out hints of watermelon, but then you saw these ones which were incredibly savoury; some which were a bit more vegetal; some which were incredibly confectionery as well. There was a whole range. You could pick that they were the same varietal, but the variety of wines that you can make from that one grape – which is not really that known – is really interesting to see as well.”
Opposite: Gabriella Rush and Matthew Jensen. Above: Ellie Ash and Justin Purser. Purser: “I think about my days back at Best’s when Viv Thomson had a visiting Champenoise in the winery and he was talking about sparkling wine – and this is back in the 50s and 60s, where when Great Western was famous for making sparkling wine but it was mainly made out of mediocre varieties – he (the visiting Campenoise) said, ‘We think of pinot meunier in Champagne like a weed. It’s like a sultana.’ And ironically, most of the sparkling at Great Western in those days was made of sultana grapes!”
“Most didn’t show overt oak or lots of winemaking – they are quite sort of light and sort of fragile-ish, which I kind of liked that sort of sappy really red fruited style.”
“It’s interesting what you said about all the different styles,” replied Purser, “There doesn’t seem to be a rule about how to make pinot meunier, which kind of makes it really interesting – people are finding their own way with it.”
“What’s the reference?” Asked Lapalus, rhetorically. “It’s Coteaux Champenois!” he patriotically declared.
Ryan added his thoughts on the approach from winekaers. “Most didn’t show overt oak or lots of winemaking – they are quite sort of light and sort of fragile-ish, which I kind of liked that sort of sappy really red fruited style,” he said. “So yeah, pretty moorish. I suppose some were quite simple in a way – but delicious. That’s not a criticism, but some were just really delicious ‘park wines’ and some had the structure that would be interesting with a bit of a bottle of age, so on the whole, quite interesting!”
Above: Chris Ryan and Gilles Lapalus. Opposite: Ellie Ash and Justin Purser..
“I was surprised today with the tannin level – very fine tannins, but the quite persistent in most wines. Not all of them, but certainly in quite a lot them: fine tannin, which is nice to see”
Darling noted a spectrum of fruit and savoury characters between the wines, which was a highlight fer her. “Seeing that breath of expression across the different wines,” she began, “There were some really beautiful fruit-driven… even within those fruit categories, there was a sour cherry, bright cherry, all the way to dark cherry, and then in the raspberry you’ve got some beautiful jubey stuff, and then you’ve got these brambly leafy kind of expressions too, but I also really enjoyed the savory expressions like seeing a little bit of that mushroom coming through but overall just some really gentle fine tannins. I think that breadth of expression is really cool to see.”
Aylward offered his take on the savoury versus fruity styles. “I liked the wines that showed lots of fruit and fragrance over the savoury and spicy wines. But I could see how the savoury styles would appeal to other drinkers. For me, the spicy-savoury wines need food and I think spicy pork and game dishes would work exceptionally well with these styles.”
Rush noted a beguiling quality to some of the wines. “I was surprised to see that with those kind of aromatics as you said, so many of them were intoxicating, and then when I taste them, there were a few that it would take me in a completely different direction, which I thought was quite surprising.”
“It’s interesting, whereas pinot noir can lose its typicity and look almost-dry-red like in warmer climates, meunier probably expresses more varietal characters in a warmer climate than pinot noir.”
The conversation turned to the number of wines in the blind lineup today – and surprisingly, the number had decreased from the same tasting five years ago.
“Given the trend of the time, and global warming” said Lapalus, “you would think that it goes more towards red now – like what’s happening in Champagne. If you do this same tasting in Champagne a few years apart, there’s be a lot more red wines, for sure.”
“Is that because of the Australian influence in Champagne?” Purser asked, tongue firmly planted in cheek.
Purser added his insights about climate suitability of pinot meuneir. “It’s interesting, whereas pinot noir can lose its typicity and look almost-dry-red like in warmer climates, meunier probably expresses more varietal characters in a warmer climate than pinot noir.”
“Everyone’s moving sparkling production to Tasmania so there’s all these sparkling vineyards around the mainland that are probably better suited to meunier as a still wine.”
The panel discussed the quandary around the profitability of selling making and selling meunier as a still red win versus the economics of growing and making it for sparkling wine.
Lapalus concluded with further reason to champion pinot meunier as a red wine. “But it’s also for the virtue of variety – of differences,” he said. “The day that there’s only pinot noir in the ground is going to be very boring. Pinot noir is in fashion now, but it’s not forever.”
Our panel of experts gathered in Melbourne at Prince Dining Room (St Kilda). All wines tasted ‘blind’ with palates cleansed thanks to Antipodes.
The Panel
Gilles Lapalus is originally from Burgundy, and the third generation of his family to be involved with wine. He studied oenology in Dijon. Lapalus moved to Australia in 2001 to help establish the Sutton Grange Winery, near Castlemaine. After leaving Sutton Grange in 2015, he started his own labels, Maison Lapalus, and Bertrand Bespoke. In 2011, Lapalus had begun to experiment with native botanicals, which led to the founding of Maidenii with Shaun Byrne. Theirs was the first vermouth to employ Australian botanicals. He also co-authored ‘The Book of Vermouth’ in 2018 (Hardie Grant).
Chris Ryan is a senior wine buyer with Trader House restaurants, which encompasses Andrew McConnell’s suite of venues, including Gimlet, Cutler & Co., Supernormal and Marion. Ryan holds diplomas from WSET and the Association de la Sommellerie Internationale, is a French Wine Scholar and also Court of Master Sommeliers certified. He was crowned the Best Sommelier of Australia in 2021. Ryan also makes wine in the Yarra Valley under his Honky Chateau label.
Ellie Ash is a consultant Sommelier with extensive experience in the Melbourne hospitality scene. She holds an Advanced Certificate with the Court of Master Sommeliers and regularly participates as an Associate Judge across wine and whisky shows in Victoria and New South Wales. Ellie is also an award-winning Distiller, having led the blending team at The Gospel Whiskey to win best Australian Whiskey in 2023 and 2024 at the highly regarded International Wine and Spirits Competition.
Justin Purser is a winemaking and viticulture consultant who splits his time between the Mornington Peninsula and Beechworth. He also crafts wines under his own label, Purser Wines. A University of Adelaide graduate with a Bachelor of Oenology, Purser’s career has taken him across the globe, from Brezza in Piedmont to a four-year tenure at Domaine de Montille in Volnay. He spent a decade as the chief winemaker at Best’s Great Western and has also contributed his expertise to Fallen Giants, Stonier, and Dhiaga. Purser’s exceptional skills have earned him the Jimmy Watson trophy twice, in 2012 and 2021. He is also a regular judge at wine shows.
Matthew Jensen is the Group Sommelier at Renascence Group, overseeing the wine programs for Farmer’s Daughters, Victoria by Farmer’s Daughters, and Morena. After completing a degree in journalism and political science, Jensen discovered his passion for wine while working in a wine store, where he enjoyed combining his love for wine with engaging conversations. He holds certifications from the Court of Master Sommeliers and WSET Level 3. Jensen’s career includes notable roles such as Assistant Head Sommelier at Vue de Monde and Head Sommelier at Atlas Dining.
Mike Aylward is the winemaker at Ocean Eight Wines, based on the Mornington Peninsula. After earning a Science degree, Aylward honed his winemaking skills through an apprenticeship at his family’s business, Kooyong Estate, where he worked for five years until its sale to Port Phillip Estate in 2013. Shortly after, he launched Ocean Eight Wines. Aylward’s showstopping wines earned him the Young Gun of Wine Award in 2011. He is a prominent advocate for the Mornington Peninsula region, with a particular focus on pinot noir, chardonnay, and pinot gris.
Gabriella Rush is a wine retail and hospitality professional. Currently studying her WSET Diploma, she has worked vintage between Australia and France, notably with the likes of Mount Mary in Yarra Valley and Domaine Chavy Chouet in Burgundy. Her former retail roles in Melbourne have spanned from Dan Murphys as a Wine Merchant to Blackhearts North Fitzroy store Manager. Rush has also worked at Noble Rot Magazine in London, and has recently launched her own wine label, ByGab.
Sophie Darling is the winemaker at Darling Estate. Growing up around the family vineyard, her passion was cemented after working a vintage in Burgundy, including a stint at Le Grappin in Beaune. Darling is dedicated to land stewardship, working with her sister to grow exceptional fruit and craft small-batch wines. She continues the legacy of her grandfather and father at Darling Estate, focusing on producing high-quality wines that reflect their family’s dedication.
Wine is subject to fashion like anything else, with grapes and methods falling in and out of favour, sometimes quickly, sometimes over decades. Precious ancient vines can even be removed to plant more profitable grapes – or other crops – erasing irreplaceable history. But some of those marginalised grapes are given new breath by today’s makers. The 2021 Young Gun Top 50 features Wines by Jean-Paul, Sigurd and Black & Ginger who are all championing varieties that have almost been pushed to oblivion, either in their regions or globally. Tasting notes appear at the end of the article.
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