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A tough bottle to get a good picture of. I was hoping to get an image from the ‘net. Anyway, my last bottle of this was consumed two years ago. Time for another, as sometimes a precipice is obscured by unrealistic aging expectations. A little feral on the nose, which I quite admire, with minerals, red cherries, and a little animal hide. The palate is balanced, tangy cherries and earth, and though there is quite a bit of acid it is not too hard. And gladly the caramel oak of previous bottles has receded like an ebb tide across the mudflats of pinosity. A wine of promise, and needs more time to soften and evolve.

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Bended Knee was established in 1999, and is located on a north facing slope of Mt Buninyong, an extinct volcano 15 km south-east of Ballarat. I suppose this makes it a young vines wine, and if so it is an even more impressive effort. A terrific nose, pretty florals and spiced cherries, purpleness, fresh mushrooms, with a bit of animal hide that makes it so interesting to swirl and smell. The palate is terrific too, red cherries and minerals, rhubarb and violets, a bit of flat cola and tangy acid. Beautifully balanced and elegant; great value at $30.

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I have a tasting note, but on reflection I suspect this bottle has suffered some oxidation problems. Here it is anyway: on the nose, it showed red cherry confection and a vague caramel allsorts character. It was finer on the palate, with sweet fruit, red cherries and a green confection, and something herbal, like a green tea. The length is good, but it lacks refinement and elegance. A bit of pippy greenness on the finish - quite different in style to 2003 Rokewood (screwcap) that I had last year.

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A big butter and butterscotch nose, almost too big, with overripe peaches, some grapefruit and finer fruits too. The palate also shows very ripe fruits, but there is some acid there to balance it. None of the laser-like focus and precision you see in some Chardonnays, but this has fruit and character and length - a bloody good drink. Short term only.

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