W WINE CONNOISSEUR
L
MOOROODUC ESTATE ‘MCINTYRE’ PINOT NOIR
(2015) – from the Mornington Peninsula in Victoria,
Australia.
Another
great
wine which is clear ruby in
colour. The fruit is, again, pure
and has a sweet dimension
to it – cherry, blackberry,
strawberries, red currants and
cranberries. A bit of spice and
firm but balanced tannins. This
is both fragrant and intense
at the same time. Another
splendid wine with elegance
and a long lingering finish. You
may find the 2015 somewhere;
but the 2016 vintage is now
available at around £45 a bottle (on sale at Hennings Wine –
henningswine.co.uk)
BACHELDER PINOT NOIR (2013) – from the great
Willamette Valley in Oregon. Having tasted many pinots
from this valley I wouldn’t hesitate in buying any wine from
the region whenever I see it. Here we find perfume and red
berries - cherry, raspberry, strawberry and even blackberry.
Again a touch of spice. An elegant wine with a touch of
finesse. Cost is around the £32 mark (again D. Byrne & Co in
Clitheroe and VINVM online)
BERGSTRÖM PINOT NOIR ‘BERGSTRÖM’ VINEYARD
(2006) – another fabulous wine, from a fabulous winery,
in the Willamette Valley,
Oregon. This is their
‘Bergström’ Vineyard pinot –
but keep an eye out for their
‘Shea’ Vineyard pinot too.
They are both fabulous. I am
currently finishing off the last
of the 2006 vintage of this
great wine. It has a wonderful
silky texture and smoothness.
Ruby red in colour, dark fruit,
cherry, a touch of earth, a
hint of chocolate perhaps
and some soft spice. Another
great example of the sort of wines coming from this part
of the world. This is more expensive than some the other
wines that feature in this article. It retails at around the £60/
£65 a bottle mark (the 2016 vintage can be found online –
Roberson Wine).
ESCARPMENTS ‘PAHI’ PINOT NOIR (2011) – from
Martinborough on the Northern Island of New Zealand.
Medium ruby in colour. Again a very elegant wine with notes
of red berry, cherry, strawberry and cranberry.
This is a structured wine which also boasts a touch of the
vegetal or even the forest floor. The tannins are soft (as you
would expect for an 8 year old wine).
Depending on vintage you would expect to pay anywhere
between £27 and £35 a bottle (different vintages currently on
sale at R & B Wines, Majestic online, Fine & Rare, D. Byrne
& Co in Clitheroe). Also keep a look out for their equally
impressive ‘Kupe’ and ‘Kiwa’ pinots.
FELTON ROAD ‘BLOCK 3’ PINOT NOIR (2008) –
This winery is a longstanding favourite of mine. Over
countless years I have enjoyed their wonderful pinots from
Central Otago, down at the bottom of the South Island in
New Zealand. Whether it be their Block 5 Pinot Noir, their
Cornish Point Pinot Noir or the Block 3 Pinot Noir – find
them. They are fabulous wines. This 2008 vintage of the
“Block 3’ is drinking beautifully. It has gorgeous ripe dark
fruit, a hint of dark chocolate and silky tannins. Beautifully
balanced and enormously enjoyable. There are currently
a variety of different vintages of this wine available online,
ranging from £55 to £65 a bottle.
The wines reviewed in this article can be hard to find,
predominantly as they are in such high demand and are
often snapped up early. Whilst they may seem pricey, they do
hold their own, in terms of price, when compared with other
great fine wines from around the world and the prices they
fetch. Ultimately, in life, you get what you pay for. I would
far rather pay for a six bottle case of one of the above wines
than spend the same amount on a dozen or more bottles
of something cheaper. Why? Because you are buying pure
quality - as opposed to a quantity of something that may be
not so good or even unpalatable.
Even if you don’t go for any of the wines reviewed, do have
a good look for wines from the regions I have mentioned –
the cool coastal pinots from the Cape in South Africa and
from California, from the Mornington Peninsula and the
Yarra Valley in Australia, from the great Willamette Valley
in Oregon and from Martinborough and Central Otago in
New Zealand. I would be surprised if you ended up being
disappointed.
Finally a tip. If you want to look for any of the wines reviewed
in this article, or indeed search for any other particular wine,
then a good tool to use is wine searcher. Go online and visit
their web site (www.wine-searcher.com). Type in what you
are looking for, and it will pull up who is selling it and link
you to their website.
The bottom line from this article? Simple. Some pinots really
are amongst the ‘most highly prized’ wines in the world. The
wines that feature in this month’s article belong to this group
of wines. To find out if you agree with this conclusion? Well,
the only way is to go and try some of them for yourself. As
and when you have done so - I would be surprised if you
didn’t agree!
wirrallife.com 39