Australian Pinot

Mac Forbes

Several years ago a trip to Victoria, Australia renewed my faith in Pinot noir. I’d gotten lost in a sea of overly squishy, indistinct wines while doing mass tastings and lost site of the precision and energy that can be found in a truly excellent glass of Pinot. Then, at the start of 2013, David Fesq and Mike Bennie were kind enough to tag-team plan an incredible trip for me through some of Australia’s cool climate regions and the distant reaches of Victoria. David got me to Geelong and Great Western while making sure I tasted wines from the Mornington Peninsula, Macedon Ranges and beyond, then Mike took me about the Yarra Valley for a couple days. With them I rediscovered my love for Pinot noir – the grape that originally grabbed my attention for wine. The two of them hand-selected some of the best vintners of the region and while in the Yarra Valley, with my nose in the glass of a vineyard select Pinot by Mac Forbes, I found that nervy, energizing, sapidity, purity and length I love from a really good wine.

Mark Davidson has spent years now helping to re-educate the North American wine community on the virtues of Australian wine. North American imports of overly extracted, and low cost wines from that Southern hemisphere continent had incorrectly taught us to believe all Australian wines were of those styles. In reality the continent has always been more diverse. More over, in recent decades the wine industry there has undergone an evolution shifting to lower volumes of production with a greater focus not only on hand-crafted wines but also more delicate styles. The results are beautiful and intriguing.

Mike Symons of Stonier Wines

Yesterday, Mark brought together a few of us in the Bay Area for an intimate tasting of some choice Australian Pinots. There I was again with Mac Forbes wines and the man himself renewing my faith in Pinot noir. In good time too as tomorrow the world converges on Willamette Valley’s annual International Pinot Noir Celebration with the largest contingent of Australian Pinot producers ever seen there. I’m looking forward to it. Mark’s tasting also included vintner Mike Symons of Stonier wines from the Mornington Peninsula. It was my first time meeting Mike and his wines were also excellent – full of purity and a lovely balance of fresh red fruit with a savory belly of sapidity.

Here’s a look at some of the wines from yesterday’s tasting. All prices shown are SRP for the US market.

Stonier and Mac Forbes Wines

Stonier Pinot Noir 2015 Mornington Peninsula, Victoria $30
Meaty aromatics flooded with red fruit carry into a palate of bracing acidity, cascading flavor and a honed structure somehow at the same time delicate and without heaviness. Bright, stimulating and lengthy. It opens to notes of cherry blossom and prosciutto with air. Lovely purity.

* Mac Forbes Yarra Valley Pinot Noir 2015 Yarra Valley, Victoria $32
Savory and multi-layered aromatics carry into a palate of complexity and textural layers. Simulating with intense minerality, tons of sapidity and length. Full of savory, red fruit with ferric accents and natural spice, this wine washes the palate with flavor while retaining freshness and lightness throughout. I love the purity and palate stimulation of this wine.

* Stonier Reserve Pinot Noir 2015 Mornington Peninsula, Victoria $50
Meaty and lightly spiced with a mix of flowers and powdered (but not sweet) cherry ride into a long savory finish. A deft combination of power and delicacy with a full mouthful of flavor that shows dance-y and fresh across the palate. Full of purity.

Mac Forbes Woori Yallock Pinot Noir 2015 Yarra Valley, Victoria $75
Really nice freshness and lovely subtlety throughout. Notes of red cherry with a faint pop of nectarine and tangerine on the nose and a refreshing lift of evergreen throughout. This wine is both delicate and lacy with power, filled with a crunchy, fresh minerality, tons of sapidity and lots of length. All about purity of expression and nuance.

Australian Pinot: Flight 2

Giant Steps Applejack Vineyard Pinot Noir 2014 Yarra Valley, Victoria $42
Just a hint of funk on the nose transforms into a persistent, lifting jalapeño that carries into the palate alongside stony fresh, spiced red cherry and peppered meat. Showcasing ferric accents throughout, lightly tactile tannin and lots of sapidity through a moderate finish. It offers a nice pinch of baby fat right now that will no doubt dissipate with more time in bottle as the wine also further integrates. Hold for a few more years.

Ocean Eight Pinot Noir 2013 Mornington Peninsula, Victoria $52
Fresh throughout with notes of cherry powder (not sweet) and a long savory line lifted by fresh evergreen notes. There is a feral wildness to this wine that is at the same time lithe and wirey. Give it a bit more time in bottle to integrate. Nice sapidity and a fresh wash of acidity that will no doubt develop nicely.

Kooyong Estate Pinot Noir 2012 Mornington Peninsula, Victoria $56
A bit muted and tucked in currently, the wine opens with savory aromatics that follows into a palate with still plenty of power and spiced red fruit. Accents of iron and saline. A plush palate with a bit less complexity currently than the other Mornington wines but might unfold with a bit of time in bottle and air upon opening.

Australian Pinot: Flight 3

Dalrymple Estate Pinot Noir 2014 Pipers River Valley Tasmania $44
Nuanced, concentrated, and at the same time delicate aromatics lead to a concentrated core of flavor not from over-extraction but natural fruit density. Rocky and textural with a mix of cherry and currant flavors and a refreshing evergreen lift. The wine feels simultaneously delicate and dense like a swath of handmade embroidered lace gathered into a ball of intricate fabric. There is a lovely textural quality as well as an almost chewy element I find appealing. I look forward to seeing this wine again in a few more years as the fabric has begun to uncurl.

* Tolpuddle Pinot Noir 2014 Coal River Valley Tasmania $75
A fresh pop of nectarine and just underripe red cherry couple with a hint of clove spice that twists into a persistent lift of jalapeño from nose through palate. A bit simple compared to the other wines but in a pleasing and delicious sense. Distinctive with massive aromatics throughout the long finish.

Bindi Dixon Pinot Noir 2015 Macedon Ranges Victoria $65
Fresh aromatics and a savory, rocky, almost perfumed palate. Flavors of a freshly split open cherry tasted close to the pit with savory and spiced notes throughout and a dry finish. A full round mid palate without heaviness or over-extraction finishes snug for a moderate finish.

Australian Pinot: Lunch Wines

Over lunch we enjoyed several other wines. I did not take notes on these but they are listed as follows.

Si Vintners Halcyon Pinot Noir 2012 Margaret River Western Australia $46

Artisan by Murdoch Hill Phaeton Pinot Noir 2014 Adelaide Hills South Australia $45

Eden Road The Long Road Pinot Noir 2013 Tumbarumba New South Wales $27

Kooyong Massale Pinot Noir 2014 Mornington Peninsula Victoria $38

Holm Oak Pinot Noir 2015 Tamar Valley Tasmania $30

Thank you to Mark Davidson, as always, for including me. 

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