Grand Cru Tasting Group (Perth) – Pinot Noir

[Waiters Friend]

G'day

The Grand Cru tasting group has been meeting monthly for over a decade now. Every year or two, one of the themes has been Pinot Noir. This time, there were no limitations – any vintage, any place of origin, any style. And we ended up with ……. 9 red table wines – no bubbles or rose`s. But that’s OK. There were some very good wines in the mix.

As usual, the wines were tasted blind, with the only information known being the vintage. The wines were tasted from young to old, and the notes below are a compilation of the group’s comments.

Soul Growers Serendipitous 2023 (Adelaide Hills): Pale ruby in colour. A delicate and perfumed nose of strawberry, red cherry, white pepper and spices. The cherry fruit is slightly confectioned on the palate. Tannins and acid are moderate, and there’s some white pepper. The wine is light and bright, with a slightly short finish. Drink young.

Felton Road Bannockburn 2022 (Central Otago): Crimson in colour. The nose showed the expected red cherry, along with some vegetal and medicinal notes. There’s also some white pepper and spices. On the palate, the tannins are fine grained. There’s good supporting acid, some glycerols providing texture, and more sour cherry. Moderate length and a slightly astringent finish. I’m aware that some of the descriptors could be seen as detrimental, but the wine was well regarded by the group.

Luna ‘Blue Rock’ 2019 (Martinborough): Ruby colour. Noticeably sweet cherry fruit and charcuterie on the nose. The palate is fruit forward, with black pepper, five spice, and fine, soft tannins. Good length and well regarded by the group.

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Coldstream Hills Deer Farm 2019 (Yarra Valley): Crimson colour. A fuller, richer nose than the previous wines, with dark and red cherries, under-ripe dak plums, wood smoke, forest floor and some stalkiness. There’s cherry fruit and charcuterie on the palate, with tingly acid and fine but noticeable tannins. Medium length and a touch of bitterness on the finish.

Happs ‘Afternoon Delight’ 2018 (Margaret River): Pale crimson in colour. Lots of fruits – strawberries, cranberries, cherry and rhubarb – alongside mushroom and earthiness on the nose. The palate has very soft tannins, with the fruits being juicy and light. Soft supporting acid and slightly sour finish. Moderate length and overall a lighter bodied wine to drink now.

Louis Latour ‘Monthelie’ 2018 (Burgundy): Crimson colour. A savoury nose, with earthiness and developed dark cherry fruit. A rich palate, developing fruit flavours (including blueberry) alongside slightly grippy tannins. Slight sourness on the finish. Good length, more complexity and highly regarded by the group.

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Hardy’s HRB 2017 (Yarra Valley): Colour? Cola! A varied and mostly savoury nose with stalks, mushrooms, forest floor, strawberry compote, and spices. Some tasters notes hydrogen sulphide initially, but this blew off. There’s moderately grippy tannins on the palate and zingy acid, along with red and dark and sour cherries, and mushrooms. Good palate length and considered to be ‘varietal’ pinot. Highly regarded by the group.

Faiveley ‘Le Clos Du Roy’ 1er Cru 2017 (Burgundy). Crimson colour. Bright strawberry and cherry fruits, and cola on the nose. The bright fruits flow through the palate, along with herbs, and a little stalkiness. Tannins are moderately grippy, and acid provides wonderful freshness. A couple of tasters considered it to be confectioned and medicinal, but I think they are wrong (!) Medium bodied and I thought it finished quite long, but some others disagreed. Obviously a divisive wine. For what my opinion is worth, I think this is too young and will develop considerably over the next 5 years.

Picardy 2014 (Pemberton): Slightly tawny in colour. Developed dark cherries on the nose, with mushroom, forest floor, and a couple of the group noted iodine. Fruits are still juicy despite the development, and tannins are soft and integrated. Good length. Opinion is divided, but mostly on the side of ‘slightly past its prime’.

On this occasion, we could not separate two wines as ‘wine of the night’ – they were the Louis Latour ‘Monthelie’ 2018 and the Hardy’s HRB 2017. Thanks to our tasting group for another fascinating and in some ways surprising evening.

Cheers
Allan

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