Lowestoft tasting

[Waiters Friend]

G’day

Tonight’s tasting was held at Lamont’s in Cottesloe, and hosted by the inimitable John Jens (WA wine icon) and Liam McIlhenny (Chief Winemaker Tasmanian Vintners). Liam’s a lovely bloke and a good storyteller, with a modest and genuine manner. He makes some excellent wines, too, which the recent Jimmy Watson trophy will attest to. These are my hastily scribbles notes:

Not surprisingly, the focus was squarely on Pinot Noir, but we started with a sparkling wine:

Lowestoft Grand Reserve 2016. A pinot / chardonnay blend, with 5 years on lees and 2 in bottle prior to release. Pale yellow (especially for its age), the nose shows fresh lemon juice and strawberries, with a moderate amount of biscuit (autolysis) character. Fresh (again, for its age) and maybe just starting to come into its own, with clean mouthfeel and good length.

Then the one table white wine, and a good one:

Lowestoft La Mielleure Chardonnay 2021. The only one made under this label (so far), from three barrels kept aside from another blend. Pale yellow / straw colour, with prominent cedary oak on the nose. There’s lemon and grapefruit and a fair whack of salinity, both on the nose and on the palate. Medium length only, but, despite that very minor criticism, I bought some.

Next was a mini-vertical of the Estate Pinot Noirs. Liam’s first vintage was the 2020 vintage, and he modified (reduced) the oak regime and made other changes. The difference between his wines and the pre-2020s are palpable.

Lowestoft Estate Pinot Noir 2018: From a warmer (by Tasmanian standards) year. Garnet colour. Slightly perfumed nose, with redcurrant and strawberry fruits. There’s touches of earth and leather as well. The palate shows refreshing acid and drying tannins. Good length. Liam admitted the fruit was starting to dry out on this one.

Lowestoft Estate Pinot Noir 2019: Also from a warmer vintage and similar colour to the 2018. In fact, my tasting note largely echoes the 2018, with slightly fresher fruit.

Lowestoft Estate Pinot Noir 2020: Bright red fruits (cherry, redcurrant) and pomegranate on the nose. The acid does a balancing act, and there’s fine grained tannins. Good length and an impressive wine for its place in the portfolio.

Lowestoft Estate Pinot Noir 2021: Similar to the 2020, but brighter and fresher. Slightly perfumed nose, with bright (that word again) red cherries. Acid and tannins in balance and a long finish. An impressive wine at its price point.

Next we looked at some single vineyard pinot noirs, with a ringer thrown in:

Lowestoft Jacoben Vineyard 2020. Pale garnet in colour. This is starting to show some development, with darker cherries, a little earthiness and leather. Again, acid and tannins are in balance and the wine finishes medium to long. Impressive.

Lowestoft Woodlands Vineyard 2021. The Woodlands vineyard is in the Coal River Valley. Crimson colour, quite a bit darker than the other wines. Bright red fruits on the nose, especially cherry and some cherry cola. The palate has some weight to it, with the acid keeping things fresh. Medium to long finish. If I heard correctly, this is a ‘once-only’ wine from this particular vineyard.

Bream Creek Pinot Noir 2023. The ringer. Liam also makes the Bream Creek wines, and there’s some sharing of fruit between the labels (including some fruit from the Lowestoft vineyard in the Bream Creek wine). Garnet colour. Dark and red cherries on the nose, cola, and a little earthiness. Freshening acid and fine-grained tannins, all in balance, and what I can only describe as a clean finish.

Lowestoft Jacoben Vineyard 2022. I had the pleasure of tasting this wine (over 3 days) on a trip to Tasmania last month, and tonight’s tasting reinforced my opinion that this is a top pinot noir. Cherries, pomegranate, redcurrant – all prominent on the nose, which is fresh and bright (that word again). The palate shows a little earth (perhaps a sign of development to come) but the acid keeps it vibrant, and the tannins are fine grained and only slightly drying. Excellent wine and I am looking forward watching it develop over a couple of years.

Finally, the piece de resistance – the La Maison wines:

Lowestoft La Maison 2019: Garnet colour. Dark cherry and coffee grounds on the nose. A fuller palate with a touch of leather and fruit starting to dry out a little. Soft acid and tannins are fully integrated.

Lowestoft La Maison 2020: Bright cherries and redcurrant on the nose. Acid is keeping this fresh, and the tannins are pretty well integrated and slightly drying. Some earthiness and mushroom character as well. This is looking pretty good right now.

Lowestoft La Maison 2021: Ripe cherries and pomegranate on the nose. Slight earthiness, forest floor and fine-grained tannins. Also looking pretty good right now.

Lowestoft La Maison 2022: The JW winner. Perfumed nose with red cherries, redcurrant, pomegranate and the hint of earthiness. It has similarities to the 2021 but is more intense and a step up from the 2020 and 2021. Liam reckons the (yet to be released) 2023 is even better – well this is a hard act to follow. Excellent wine.

As mentioned earlier, there’s a noticeable step up in quality between the pre-2020 wines and those that followed. For someone with limited experience with pinot (and no experience in Tasmania), Liam has done a remarkable job with these wines. All credit to him.

In the past month (including the trip to Tasmania) I have bought:
• Lowestoft Estate Chardonnay 2021
• Lowestoft La Mielleure Chardonnay 2021
• Lowestoft Estate Pinot Noir 2020 and 2021
• Lowestoft Jacoben Vineyard 2020 and 2022
• Lowestoft La Maison 2020 and 2021 (with the 2022 unfortunately being unavailable in Western Australia).
• Bream Creek Pinot Noir 2023

I look forward to keeping an eye on Lowestoft, as I suspect things can only get even better.

Thanks again to Liam and JJ for an excellent tasting.

Cheers
Allan