2008 Monomeith Vineyard Pinot Noir-Norton Summit-Adelaide H

[Attila]

2008 Monomeith Vineyard Pinot Noir-Norton Summit-Adelaide Hills

Wild looking, almost feral young winemaker. Didn't think much of him initially but he turned out to be a master of Pinot Noir.

Free run. Very pale colour. Varietal with amazing personality. Now to 10 years. Rich and wild wine. Looks wholesome and is delicious. Superb.
Surprised the hell out of me. If you can find it, buy it.
95 pts $40

[Wayno]

2008 Monomeith Vineyard Pinot Noir-Norton Summit-Adelaide Hills

Wild looking, almost feral young winemaker. Didn't think much of him initially but he turned out to be a master of Pinot Noir.

Free run. Very pale colour. Varietal with amazing personality. Now to 10 years. Rich and wild wine. Looks wholesome and is delicious. Superb.
Surprised the hell out of me. If you can find it, buy it.
95 pts $40

'Feral winemaker' - intriguing. Wine sounds good. Where is it available?

[n4sir]

Wild looking, almost feral young winemaker. Didn't think much of him initially but he turned out to be a master of Pinot Noir.

The same certainly applies to Justin McNamee - he may resemble 'Sideshow Bob', but he certainly knows his stuff...




It was great to get your take on this wine Attila - I tried it a couple of months ago next to Anton's standard Domaine Lucci Pinot (neither had any breathing time). While at that tasting I preferred the Lucci, I also thought the Monomeith had the structure, acid and ultimately potential, provided it fills out:

2008 Domaine Lucci Pinot Noir: A lovely, expressive nose full of creamy rhubarb, tea leaf and lemony spices, while the palate has a good spine of acidity wrapped up in lovely rich fruit. I was a little surprised when winemaker Anton van Klopper said he thought this would be an early drinker because it’s made of pressings and stalks; the fruit and acidity is so good right now I couldn’t imagine much better paired with Peking duck.

2008 Lucy Margaux Vineyards Monomeith Vineyard Pinot Noir: A slender and slightly meaty nose with some burnt toast/coffee characters, and the palate’s just as lean but long with tight, lemony acidity and zippy tannin marking the finish. While at the moment it looks awkward Anton thinks it will flesh out with many years cellaring – that said right now it’s a little hard to look past that previous wine…

What would you recommend as a food pairing and what sort of breathing time would you give it at the moment? What do you think its drinking window will ultimately be? Also, do you think it resembles any particular appellation/style/label(s) from Burgundy?

Cheers,
Ian

[crusty2]

2008 Lucy Margaux Vineyards Monomeith Vineyard Pinot Noir:

when presented in a blind tasting i was amazed at the cloudy appearance of this wine. it was presented by a winemaker and i first thought this was an "inferment' sample of one of his wines. quite primary strawberry characters and this palate feel of body (possibly the particulate matter in this wine). strange wine. but we need these to show a point of difference. at $50 not a VFM for me.
on the other hand tried the 2006 Hurley Vineyard Pinot and this was definitely a VFM for me, at a similar pricepoint to the Adelaide Hills wine.

cheers
phill

[Attila]

'Feral winemaker' - intriguing. Wine sounds good. Where is it available?

Directly from the winemaker I believe at this stage but after the Sydney tasting no doubt a couple of retailers will take it on.

[Blue]

Wild looking, almost feral young winemaker. Didn't think much of him initially but he turned out to be a master of Pinot Noir.

Free run. Very pale colour. Varietal with amazing personality. Now to 10 years. Rich and wild wine. Looks wholesome and is delicious. Superb.
Surprised the hell out of me. If you can find it, buy it.
95 pts $40

Sounds a bit like Bass Phillip, how do they compare?

[Attila]

Talent wise for sure. This Anton guy is a super talent in my view based on his two 2008 pinots I've tasted.
I'll most certainly keep an eye on him in the future.
Attila