In a relatively short span, pinot noir has become a significant player in Australian wine, though its volume doesn’t yet threaten shiraz or cabernet sauvignon. Interestingly, more merlot is planted than pinot, but the latter’s quality has soared across various regions. Pinot noir has spearheaded a cool climate revolution, contributing to the development of regions such as Tasmania, the Mornington Peninsula, the Yarra Valley, Macedon, and the Adelaide Hills as premier wine regions.
There is no doubt that pinot noir has not only firmly entrenched itself in the Australian wine drinking psyche, but it is also starting to build distinct regional and sub-regional identities guided by the hands of confident makers, such as the the 2024 YGOW Awards Top 50, which features Marco Lubiana, Aunt Alice, Jean Bouteille, Tillie J, Mac Forbes, Port Phillip Estate, J & S Fielke, Port Phillip Estate, Portsea Estate, XO Wine Co., Turon, Scanlon and Utzinger Wines.
Deep and pretty red florals are enchanting from the get go, followed by wild strawberry, raspberry, and cranberry. Very inviting and gratifying aromas draw you to the palate which is medium bodied and vibrant. Ripe red rose, cranberry, raspberry and brown spice glide through the palate with aplomb. It’s delicately structured with gentle integrated tannins and red-fruit laced acidity bringing a fresh close.
Bursts of red cherry and ripe red florals lead the aromas, followed by macerated strawberry, cranberry and nutmeg spice. It’s pretty while being deep set and complex aromatically. The medium bodied palate follows suit. It’s intense and sophisticated. Red rose, morello cherry, strawberry and cranberry drape across the palate before ample chalky tannins hold sway along with red-fruited acidity. Brown spice permeated the mouth perfume along with a long detailed finish.
Bright and vivid aromas of raspberry coulis, wild strawberry, strawberry cream lolly and a whisper of cinnamon.. Fresh, lifted and bright. The palate is light-to-medium bodied, led by raspberry, strawberry. Fine chalky tannins provide a frame for these bright red fruits to carry through to a fresh red-fruit laced finish.
Gentle aromas of dark cherry, pepper spice, and earth with a funky nuance beneath. A good burst of intensity to the palate with notes akin to the nose. The palate is where the bunchy and twiggy notes sing, commanding the palate and wrapping around the cherry and earth notes. A very structural feel. High chalky tannins assert themselves on the fruit and earth, bringing things to a sappy and slightly bitter close.
Open knit aromas with an ashy, smoky appeal straight off. This is followed by lifted, sappy and stalky notes melding with red cherry, red currant and decaying leaves. The palate is medium bodied and packed with flavour – spiced red cherry, red florals, raspberry and wild strawberry are encased in cocoa powder laced tannins and persistent red-fruited acidity. This is an autumnal, smoky, bunchy, and slightly wild iteration.
Lovely elegant and poised aromas of quality dark cherry, cranberry, tilled earth and, deep red florals, and baking spices. This is very precise and detailed with lovely complexity and verve.. The palate is sappy and vivid, with dark cherry, earth, subtle stalkiness, and cranberry skin. The tannins are fine and laced with cocoa-nib bitterness, along with cleansing acidity bringing a long, pleasant and balanced finish.
Maraschino cherry melds with twiggy, bunchy notes straight off, followed by tangy red plum-skin, red florals, and subtle cherry cola thereafter. Lovely lift and complexity here. The palate is lifted and pure, gliding through the palate with red cherry skin and flesh, red rose, and subtle cranberry. A good lick of chalky tannins assert themselves on the fruit, pairing with cherry-laced acidity to a fresh and elegant close.
Macerated plum, strawberry, red cherry, raspberry, brown spices and a glimmer of cranberry skin. The aromas are bright and playful suggesting an eminently drinkable palate. This is confirmed with an ultra bright, hightoned, and light bodied wine. Bright maraschino cherry, unripe red plum, wild raspberry. The finish is bright, pure-fruited and thirst-slaking, with a chalky line of tannin to finish.
Lovely vibrant aromas of strawberry, wild raspberry, and cranberry, with a glimmer of game meat beneath. Good intensity and fruit power on display through the palate – ripe strawberry, raspberry, and red floral are swept up by integrated, fine, chalky tannins. Lovely lift and verve here, with bright and fresh red-fruit appeal.
Pure red cherry, raspberry, wild strawberry and baking spices. Bright, fresh and fragrant. The palate is medium bodied, with notes mirroring the nose. Firm chalky tannins hold sway, compressing the fruit and framing the bright red fruit to a fresh finish.
Wild raspberry, macerated strawberry, subtle pepper spice and brown spice are lifted and bright. The palate is lithe and detailed, with the same bright red profile. A good assertive frame of tannin commands the mouth and makes for a structural and compact close.
Cranberry, wild strawberry, bright raspberry, and baking spices on the nose, followed by pretty red florals. Lovely complexity here, with the fruit and spice notes melding beautifully. The palate is medium bodied and vivid – red rose, morello cherry, and macerated strawberry make way for cinnamon and nutmeg. A good vein of chalky tannin takes command on the finish along with a floral mouth perfume and bright acidity to a long close.
Open and autumnal aromas here. Decaying leaves, ripe cherry, wild raspberry, dried cranberry, forest floor, and salted plum. Lovely depth and complexity to the aromas which are beguiling and packed with interest. The palate is textured and medium bodied with a good burst of flavour. Dark cherry, bunchy spice, earth, subtle twiggy spice. Assertive chalky tannins provide frame and carry for fruit and autumnal note, to a poised and classy close. A wonderful example.
Deep and restrained aromas here. Dark spiced cherry, warm earth, subtle tomato leaf, autumn leaves and forest floor. Classy and poised. Lovely, gratifying ripeness to the palate. Red plum, ripe dark cherry, bunchy spice. This a brooding and deep iteration, though with good complexity and details. The finish is laced with bunch spice and lifted cherry, with firm tannins keeping it in line.
The Limestone Coast captures half a dozen wine regions at the southern tip of South Australia with ancient seabeds that generated the limestone underpinnings. It’s a zone of diversity, from maritime to continental climates, and from classic regions – like Coonawarra – to those that are just beginning to find their identity amongst wine drinkers – like Mount Gambier. The 2022 Young Gun of Wine Awards features Aunt Alice, Wangolina, Patrick of Coonawarra.
The 2024 YGOW Awards Top 50 features Alkimi Wines, Allevare, Aunt Alice, GUM, Guthrie Wines, J & S Fielke, Little Frances, M&J Becker Wines, Marco Lubiana, Mountadam Vineyards, Musical Folk, Parley Wine, Port Phillip Estate, Portsea Estate, Sabi Wabi and Utzinger Wines. These chardonnay makers are as intent on flavour as they are elegance, with no single recipe for success, but rather a site-specific approach that is seeing the chardonnay landscape becoming an increasingly exciting one.
With six of the brightest wine minds in attendance, and 36 wines carefully selected and decanted for this blind tasting, we set out to get a better image of where the grape currently stands in an Australian context.
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