Bindi tasting, Brisbane 2004

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Fri Oct 29, 2004 2:54 pm

After spending a bit of time on another forum which is now dying a slow and very horrible death (no guessing which one...) I decided it was time for a change of scenery. I have been passively loitering around the auswine forum for a few months now, but have decided to jump in, fingers and opinions first, and submit my first ever auswine post.

An impressive tasting was put on last night by my local wine storage facility (Wineaway) in Brisbane. Young winemaker, Michael Dhillon was there to address, excite, and give no-B***S*** answers to the 50 or so tasters seated upstairs in the dedicated tasting room. 14 wines were tasted on the night; 12 of them formally, and the other two before and after. The wines in question? All of them Bindi.

Doing a quick search on the web turned over very few tasting notes with which to compare my scribbles. Halliday loves the company (5 stars) and the wines; I couldn't find anything on Torbs site; and the notes posted by my new fellow forumites seem to be few and far between. The general consensus from what I gather, is that the wines are well respected, perhaps for their non-conformity to any particular style. I hope that the following post opens up some discussion on this interesting winery.

The wines were tasted in 4 sets of 3. Each set demonstrating the aging (or evolution of style??) of a particular wine.

1st set: Bindi Chardonnay.

1991 Bindi Chardonnay
Pale yellow, not as much colour as I had expected given the age. Quite powerful butterscotch and tropical friut aromas dominating the toasty french oak. A bit sauterne-like. On the palate, the wine exhibited a lovely creamy texture again with the butterscotch, quince and pear flavours. Lovely sweetness, acidity, and balance. This is right in its prime.

1994 Bindi Chardonnay
Similar colour to the '91 - similarly advanced?? A funky (but lovely) sharpness on the nose. Musk and lemon? No, more like passionfruit. Not as dominating in the mouth as the '91, but much more elegant with very impressive length. Impressive chard.

2003 Bindi Chardonnay
Very pale straw. Lovely floral and pear aromas. Piercing acidity and honey dew melon flavours abound. Is this a new direction for the label, or simply a cooler vintage? Needs time to come together.

2nd set: Bindi Quartz Chardonnay. Newer vines planted on soil with a lot of quartz.

1995 Bindi Quartz Chardonnay
About as dark as the 91 Bindi label. Quite perfumed and aromatic with apricot on the nose. Too much alcohol. A bit of malo here. Similar on the palate with some toasty flavours creeping in. Mouthfilling, but finishes with a bit of tartiness. Reminded me of Penfolds Bin00 chard, but with less finesse and structure.

1998 Bindi Quartz Chardonnay
Honey, strawberries and cream. More malolactic fermentation adopted than previous wine. Over oaked, but enjoyable nonetheless.

2003 Bindi Quartz Chardonnay
Very pale. Perfumed like the '95. These last 3 have some creaminess too them. More intense than the '03 Bindi. Again, the wisteria flower perfume abounds. Not my favourite, prefer the '03 Bindi.

In comparison with the first lot, the Quartz chardonnays seemed too acidic, too alcoholic, and with perfume that was too powerful for my taste. Not as elegant or refined as the '94 and '03 Bindi label.
According to the winemaker, they played around with various levels of malo in the quartz in the late '90's, with the '98 going 100% malo.
The room favourite from set 1 was probably the '91 Bindi Chardonnay, with the '94 second. I went '94, '91, '03.
For the second set, my choice was '95, '98, '03.

3rd Set: Bindi Original Vineyard Pinot Noir

1996 Bindi Original Vineyard Pinot Noir
Deep red with orange edges. Lost a lot of fruitiness on the nose, with damp forest floor and compost aromas dominating. On the palate, the earthy flavours were in control, with some pluminess dying off. A little charry. Quite drying and tannic. Too much oak. Drink soon.

2001 Bindi Original Vineyard Pinot Noir
Red purple. Ripe raspberry and plum on nose. Much more alive than the '96 and more alcohol. Warmer vintage? Lovely balanced Pinot with impressive depth and length.

2003 Bindi Original Vineyard Pinot Noir
Bright red/pink. Strawberry and cream aromas. Starts off light, but finishes with concentration and power. Interesting to see where this one is going. My choice before the '01 then '96.

4th set: Bindi Block 5 Pinot Noir

1997 Bindi Block 5 Pinot Noir
Dark red purple. Powerful strawberry, plum and earth aromas continue on palate. Finishes a little short without as much tannin as the '96 Original. Well balanced and lovely drinking.

2000 Bindi Block 5 Pinot Noir
Dark inky red. More austere style than the '97. Strong plum and more oak. More gritty tannin than the '97 resulting in finer structure. Quite intense on the tongue with dark plum and cinnamon obvious. This will last a while. My favourite on the night.

2003 Bindi Block 5 Pinot Noir
Much darker than the Original '03. A little hot and acidic. Nice long clean finish, but prefer the '03 Original.

All up, the Block 5 pinots were more consistent to style than the Originals. Perhaps they were all from a similar style of vintage, not sure.

Before the tasting the '94 Sparkling Chardonnay was served. No notes taken, but it was pretty impressive stuff. One of the better Aus sparklings for sure. On lees for something like 6 years, and the last few under cork, it was still lovely and fresh, with excellent complexity and mouthfeel. This wine could be cellared for at least 5 more years. With the 2000 Block 5, the 2000 Original, and the 1994 Bindi Chard, these were the wines of the night for me, and the only ones I would consider buying.

Following the tasting, the 2003 Bundaleer Heathcote Shiraz was layed out. Not a Bindi grown wine, but crafted by the winemakers. An experimental wine. Quite densely flavoured and structured with nice balance. This was a pretty decent 'muck around' wine as the winemaker put it. I have no idea what it retails for, but I would guess $40. Not my style of Shiraz, but a good wine nonetheless.
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mphatic · Post by **mphatic** » Fri Oct 29, 2004 2:59 pm

I'm sure I logged in before typing this. I will post an 'Who am I" next week.

mphatic

Adair · Post by **Adair** » Fri Oct 29, 2004 4:16 pm

Thanks for the notes. Notes of vertical tasting such as these are most useful to wine buyers like myself.

On the other point you made, you took about a year and half longer than I but at least you got here. :wink:

Adair

Red Bigot · Post by **Red Bigot** » Fri Oct 29, 2004 6:29 pm

Anonymous wrote: I couldn't find anything on Torbs site;

Of course not, these are (very nearly) all Chardonnay and Pinot!

Thanks for the comprehensive notes though.

TORB · Post by **TORB** » Fri Oct 29, 2004 6:30 pm

mphatic,

Welcome to this place, glad you made the switch.

Bindi is well respected by those that know about their wines but it is a small operation and the wines are not easy to find.

As this is your first post here (but not the first time we have jousted) I will be kind to you.

Doing a quick search on the web turned over very few tasting notes with which to compare my scribbles. Halliday loves the company (5 stars) and the wines; I couldn't find anything on Torbs site;:

Maaaaaaate, have a bloody look at the wines they make - all c-though and PiNot and you expect to find them on Tobwine? :shock:

Look forward to your contribution and you did a great first post. :wink:

MC · Post by MC » Fri Oct 29, 2004 6:49 pm

Torb,
Hv u drank ur Cleveland P/N yet?
Looking forward to ur impression

Cheers,
MC

mphatic · Post by **mphatic** » Fri Oct 29, 2004 6:55 pm

Thanks for your ...err.. hospitality, guys. :lol:

Torb, I must have been surfing with blinkers on because I had no idea that you were dead set against pinot as well!! There are quite a few good oz pinots out there with great depth, flavour concentration, structure, and powerful tannins; Moorilla Estate Reserve Pinot springs to mind. This wine changed my opinion of pinot with the first sip.

Anyway, next time I'll try to be more careful not to mention the four letter 'T' word in the same post as a white wine review... :roll:

cheers

TORB · Post by **TORB** » Sat Oct 30, 2004 4:52 am

mphatic,

For the record, I am "not dead set against Pinot." If fact give me a bottle of good Burgundy and I will even have a second glass. The problem is that the majority (and that does not mean all) Oz Pinots are ordinary and overpriced in comparison to other red varieties.

In my experience, you have to taste through a load of dross to find a good one so I do not chase them and wait till I have dinner with the Mad Hungarian where normally there are some stunners.

In my recent trip to the Yarra Bloody Valley I did taste my way though a number of them. The best I found at a reasonable price was the Punt Road.

KMP · Post by **KMP** » Sat Oct 30, 2004 9:45 am

So Ric I guess that means there is no point in visiting Amazon.com for Australian Peanut Noways by Ric Einstein?

Mike

JamieBahrain · Post by **JamieBahrain** » Sat Oct 30, 2004 12:30 pm

Thanks mphatic

Bindi notes rare and greatly appreciated.

Beyond the 96pt ratings for both Bindi's 02 Chardonnay, and the 95 point rating for the OV Pinot 02, in Halliday's latest companion, is mention of the Bundaleer range. 02 Bundaleer shiraz 92 pts and 01 Bundaleer shiraz at 90pts-retailing for a modest $19 ( very reasonable for Heathcote shiraz ).

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Bindi tasting, Brisbane 2004

Bindi tasting, Brisbane 2004

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