Ocean Eight Pinot Noir 2013

[Waiters Friend]

I was impressed enough by this wine at a Perth Grand Cru tasting a while ago that I bought a six pack. It is about time I opened one......

.... and I am not disappointed. Delightful mix of strawberry, cherry, earthiness and mushroom on the nose, along with some stemmy and savoury notes. This results in a lightly perfumed nose, with complexity and interest.

This leads through to the palate. Dusty, fine grained tannins support the cherry and mushroom flavours that run a fine line down the centre of the tongue. There's also supporting acid keeping the wine fresh, and flowing through to a medium finish.

This is a well balanced wine, that offers interest and complexity with lightness of touch. If it's going to get better, I'm not sure how. It's pretty fine now.

Cheers
Allan

[paulf]

Ocean Eight is one of those wineries you kind of have to be in the know about. There are a few of them on the peninsula like that

[odyssey]

Ocean Eight is one of those wineries you kind of have to be in the know about. There are a few of them on the peninsula like that

Sounds great, would you please be able to share here a quick list off the top of your head that you'd consider worth noting?

Thanks!

[paulf]

Ocean Eight is one of those wineries you kind of have to be in the know about. There are a few of them on the peninsula like that

Sounds great, would you please be able to share here a quick list off the top of your head that you'd consider worth noting?

Thanks!

Aside from the more well known ones ( Yabby Lake, Moorooduc, 10 Minutes by Tractor, Paringa Main Ridge, Eldridge, Montalto, Stoniers, Quealy)
there's a couple of old timers that have been around as long as I can remember like Willow Creek and Elgee Park that put out consistent quality wines
Then there a few others that for various reasons aren't quite considered when talking about the top rung Hurley, Garagiste, Dexter, Prancing Horse, Foxey's Hangout, Principia, Paradigm Hill, Polperro. Some of those wines, particularly the first 3 there are certainly in the same quality bracket as the best of the more widely known Mornington Peninsula wines.

[via collins]

While agreeing entirely with Paul on the quality of that list, I'd say that Hurley, Garagiste and Dexter are considered top shelf in regular discussions about MP wines.

I would add Allies to the list of "below the radar" wineries however.

[simon1980]

Good advice! Definitely support the call on Hurley...my personal favourite. Looking forward to the 15's.

My only addition would be Scorpo.

[Cloth Ears]

We went to Ten Minutes for lunch a couple of weeks back and the wine list includes all those and quite a few more from the local area. Unfortunately, by the bottle, so even with just a 15 minute drive home it just wasn't worth the risk (having more than one, that is). Discovered Paradigm Hill on the winery walk last year (a little light for my tastes, but you can see why it's in Qantas 1st) and spent big on the Paringa Estate old vintage clear-out just after New Year. The current 10X from TMbT is destined to be a long cellar dweller.

We ended up with a 2003 Tamar Valley on that day (not local at all unless you're a crow) which started out a bit rusty, but worth taking 90 minutes over!!!

[odyssey]

Aside from the more well known ones ( Yabby Lake, Moorooduc, 10 Minutes by Tractor, Paringa Main Ridge, Eldridge, Montalto, Stoniers, Quealy)
there's a couple of old timers that have been around as long as I can remember like Willow Creek and Elgee Park that put out consistent quality wines
Then there a few others that for various reasons aren't quite considered when talking about the top rung Hurley, Garagiste, Dexter, Prancing Horse, Foxey's Hangout, Principia, Paradigm Hill, Polperro. Some of those wines, particularly the first 3 there are certainly in the same quality bracket as the best of the more widely known Mornington Peninsula wines.

Much appreciated, despite a visit 7-odd years back, haven't had a chance to delve into the lesser known gems in the region. Not many of them make appearances up here, mainly the big names.

The hunt begins...

Cheers!

[Diddy]

Sounds great, would you please be able to share here a quick list off the top of your head that you'd consider worth noting?

Thanks!

I'd also throw Myrtaceae into the mix. Great value pinots with a strong link to Main Ridge (geographically and winemaking input).

[Waiters Friend]

An update. 18 months later on, this has not moved much. The previous tasting note is largely correct and accurate, and the wine appears to be in a time warp. Holding nicely.