A bit of a shout out to Valli as well as they have just joined the 25-year club, holding a celebratory weekend of tastings and dinners over the last weekend of January.
Congratulations on the achievement and I look forward to following the wines in the future.
2022 Valli Gibbston Vineyard Pinot Noir
Rating Outstanding
Alluring & beguiling
nose, savoury
qualities, earthy
touches, red fruits,
spice a wild herb
undercurrent,
perfume swelling, a
little flint later. Ripely
fruited, powerful yet
not heavy, plum &
cherry showing, fresh
stalky touches on a
silky, vibrant,
beautifully balanced
palate with a long,
long finish. Complete,
truly gorgeous,
seduction in a glass.
2020 McArthur Ridge McArthur Alexandra Pinot Noir
Rating Excellent
Smoky notes, a sense
of gravelly minerality,
red fruits & fragrance
building in the glass. A
burst of raspberry leads
the way, wisps of
pencil lead and herb,
this is more tautly
structured with grainy
tannins, hinting at what
is to come. Youthful,
fresh, the fruit builds on
both nose & palate with
aeration, adding a tingly
aspect to the long
close. More to come
I’m sure.
2021 Carrick Organic Bannockburn Pinot Noir
Rating Outstanding
Almost brooding in a
positive way, subtle
schisty notes, plum
& darker fruits bubble
up, tar/licorice, herb
flecks. Power and
concentration with
tannic structure to
match, mouthfilling,
ripe yet quite dry,
black fruits. Again
that brooding quality,
there’s clear
complexity, intensity
and richness yet this
speaks to its potential
for the future.
2022 Valli Bannockburn Vineyard Pinot Noir
Rating Excellent to Outstanding
Fragrant lifted nose,
becomes smoky &
savoury, dried herbs,
red fruits, graphite,
anise, you can swirl
the glass for an age.
Vibrant in the mouth,
bright acidity gives real
energy, a bowl of ripe
summer berries, lovely
concentration.
Revisiting this, the
class is evident, a
sense of coolness,
growing minerality,
super balance. Already
delicious; should pair
well with food.
2022 Coal Pit Bendigo Pinot Noir
Rating Very Good to Excellent
Immediately expressive,
red fruits, blueberry &
plum, iron filings,
fragrance as it opens in
the glass. Sweet fruit to
the fore, wisps of charry
oak, grainy & minerally
with deceptive tannins.
On the one hand great
concentration and
openness, on the other
a backbone of structure
for the future. With time
savoury qualities and
darker fruits grow,
dense, open yet
potential.
2022 Valli Bendigo Vineyard Pinot Noir
Rating Excellent to Outstanding
Immediate volume on
the nose, darker
fruits, savoury, sweet
forest floor scents,
riverstones, perfume
building. A spice &
savoury led palate,
liveliness with lovely
integration, surprising
power a backstop to
the wine. Ripe yet
dry, it bounds from
complexity and
elegance to boldness,
all this with a long,
zesty close. One to
luxuriate in.
