The Auswine Forum

TiggerK wrote:It's a pity you've never had a good BP Ozzie, while rare, they do exist and some do get better with age. But we can only judge on the bottles we've had!

Ozzie W wrote:

TiggerK wrote:It's a pity you've never had a good BP Ozzie, while rare, they do exist and some do get better with age. But we can only judge on the bottles we've had!

Seems a bit like my experience with Cullen. If you have a large enough sample size, you'll eventually get a good bottle.

Mahmoud Ali wrote:I've no experience with Bass Phillip but by the sounds of it they are ugly ducklings and few survive to turn into swans.

Benchmark wrote:

dingozegan wrote:

Ozzie W wrote:I've never understood what all the fuss is about with this producer. I don't think I've ever had a good one.

They're one of the few Aussie producers of Pinot Noir that manage a traditional Burgundian style IMO (wild, savoury-fruited, elegant and with suave tannin texture).

If by faulty, people here are referring to Brett and VA, then I agree they are, I just don't consider that faulty in Bass Phillip. I'd argue that is one of the defining features of the Bass Philip style (and actually, to my tastes, better for it) - it can also be argued that it's a part of the traditional Burgundian style of Pinot.

Bass Phillip can certainly be hit and miss in terms of oxidation/flatness, which makes them a risky proposition. But actually, a lot of red Burgundy for the same price (Australian retail) is of lower quality and/or can be risky (dull/unbalanced/etc), so I'm not sure that their pricing is entirely unexpected for the style (expensive though the wines are).

I am struggling to think of other Aussie producers of Pinot Noir that can offer the same wild and savoury style with Burgundian-like elegance and tannin-texture. There are plenty of good Aussie producers of Pinot Noir, but I don't think there are many that provide those hallmarks for that style, especially at significantly lower prices. I await the flames here, of course

Respectfully disagree.

It is drawing a long bow to compare the savoury aspect of Burgundy to wine that is simply faulty, which has been the case with several of the Bass Phillip wine I have tried.

Benchmark wrote:Haha. We shall agree to disagree on disagreement.

Interesting that you have never had a bad one and others have struggled to find a good one.

The only reason an Australian pinot noir should not sell for over $750 a bottle is if wine drinkers consistently find the product faulty.

cleanskinlover wrote:

Benchmark wrote:Haha. We shall agree to disagree on disagreement.

Interesting that you have never had a bad one and others have struggled to find a good one.

The only reason an Australian pinot noir should not sell for over $750 a bottle is if wine drinkers consistently find the product faulty.

Interestingly, I poured a glass of 2013 Reserve BP blind to a a guy that would retail 2-3 Million of Burgundy/Bordeaux/Barolo annually and he mistook it for Grand Cru Burgundy! Good thanks!

Mahmoud Ali wrote:I certainly don't mind feral qualities in a wine Polymer, in fact I require an element of it in an aged pinot, but there must be other elements there as well. What i meant by "ugly duckling" was that perhaps the BP are that when opened too soon and never make it to swan-hood (is that even a word?)

Cheers .............................. Mahmoud.

cleanskinlover wrote:
Interestingly, I poured a glass of 2013 Reserve BP blind to a a guy that would retail 2-3 Million of Burgundy/Bordeaux/Barolo annually and he mistook it for Grand Cru Burgundy! Good thanks!

TiggerK wrote: But BP gets willing buyers, so good on them.