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Is there a mental asylum on Wickhams Road by any chance? The fruit for this beautiful wine comes off a vineyard managed by Hoddles Creek Estate who control the complete process from vine to retail. Winemaker/inmate Franco d’Anna says

Cropped at 1.3 tonnes per acre, only shoot thinned as bunch thinning was not required. Minimal irrigation, hand picked in the morning then cooled overnight. Made the same way as Hoddles Creek, mixture of yeasts, no fining, no enzymes, no acid adjustments and only 20% new oak instead of 30%.

Left in barrel for 12 months, with occasional lees stirring. Filtered and bottled.

Aromas of citrus, nectarine, a touch of struck match and vanilla and almond essence jump out of the glass. On the palate light to medium bodied with flavours of ruby red grapefruit, tangerine, preserved lemon and a little spice. It’s bursting with intense fruit, and has incredible focus and line courtesy of a spine of strong yet fine acidity - tight, crisp, pure and lengthy. And while perhaps it’s not especially complex (and it’s still a very young wine mind you), the clarity, precision and flavour overwhelmingly persuade me to bump this up to an outstanding rating. I love it and I’ll be buying it.

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I have kept an eye on Pinot from Gippsland for sometime. This wine is the second label for Cannibal Creek and is excellent value. The nose is dark cherry with a little raspberry and some oak. On the palate the flavours are rich and long with bright sweet red cherry fruit and a little raspberry. The texture is quite silky and the finish is medium length. It has quite firm acid that almost heads down the track of sweet and sour fruits. In a bracket with quite a few good value Pinots such as the Hoddles Creek 2006 it was thought of as the equal of most.

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At the same dinner where I took the Elk Cove another friend took this. It had a nice red colour that was just a hint murky. The nose was pretty good and had me thinking Burgundy immediately. It had plums, cherry and a bit of cinamon/orange peel. The palate was rich with great length and lovely elegance. It also had fruit power and although clearly Pinot had something else in terms of balance, richness and tightness suggesting it had a few years to go yet. I was pretty impressed. One of the best Bass Phillips that I have had in recent years.

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A friend wanted me to try this wine so we had it alongside the Mount Macleod. The fruit seemed a little flat and the wine a little developed so I am wondering if there is a cork issue because yes, it was a standard cork. The nose has citrus and nectarine plus a lifted edge to it. The palate was at the high end of my acid tolerance. The fruit was very tight and showed citrus, nectarine and a little fig. The acid held everything together in a tight package but it finished with a flavour that suggested a little oxidation. I have great faith in the future of the Gippsland for Pinot Noir and Chardonnay and suspect that this vineyard will produce better quality in the future, especially if they move to Diam or screwcap.

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I used to taste wine with many of the people associated with this venture in the seventies. We were equally obsessed with fine wine. I started making in the late seventies and they all managed to find ways to make a more than adequate income. So life goes the full circle and they now have a way to dispose of their money. I was not impressed with early releases but at $16 this is great value and suggests that they are on track for great things in the future. It has a little solids flavour that has more of an effect on the texture, making it lightly creamy. The flavours are quite complex, opening with a bit of fig and melon and quickly moving into nuts, cashew and pistachio. The finish cleans up with a little nectarine. We had it open for a few days and it was best after an hour or so.

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Dinner down the road with friends Mike and Sue. It appears that they have been given several different bottles of Gippsland Pinot to try so we hopped into them. This is one of a range produced by a young winemaker, Ben Tyler who is based in Rosedale. It had good colour and quite a perfumed nose. The dominant aroma and flavour was marochino cherry with a hint of pepper. The palate was pleasant with soft flavours and although longish lasting it didn’t jump up and say finish this bottle now. I would like to see it again in a few months because I suspect it will fill out.

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This was a very friendly wine. It had nice cherry fruit and a little tightness. It was served blind after dinner by friends who regularly explore the wines of Gippsland. They space them out well enough that I can never guess. I had not had this wine before and going by the palate, it comes from a vineyard with Pinot potential. Nice summer berries on the balate with a tight acid finish.

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This wine was the groups choice for wine of the night. My score had it placed a little back in the field but it still looked pretty good. The vintage was very tricky and in hindsight I am very impressed with how good this looked. It had great red colour that had no sign of development. The nose was full of cherry and a hint of spicey oak. The palate had superb balance with a mix of red fruits showing a complex mix of cherry, plum and spice. Long finish that is crying out for something like duck or quail. More people should be aware of this label.

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I love stickies, whether they be Ice wines, botrytis styles or the famous fortifieds from N.E. Victoria. Ten years ago I came across a wine like this in Oregon that was stupendous. Chardonnay is not the grape of choice for this style but the Nicholson River team nailed it. Aromas of peach and a bit of apricot with that characteristic botrytis edge. The palate is indeed everybit as good and rich as the enticing aromas lead you to expect. A great wine that I am sure is quite rare. It was in a 375ml bottle bought at the cellar door by my friends.

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Obtained at the cellar door on a trip around the bush last year. It had a degree of appeal at the time and I was quite impressed, not a bit herbal or tomato leaf. Now it seems to be developing fast. The nose shows nice light berry character, bit of cherry and maybe a hint of tobacco. The palate is soft and easy with good length and great varietal typicity. It doesn’t show the clean and spiffy mass produced flavours of many at this price point have but it does show subtle complexity. I don’t like consuming the same style of PN all the time so this was a nice style to look at. My only concern was its level of development. The label is NOT my style though.

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Lincoln reviewed this wine last May. I commented at the time that due to a rave by Jeremy that I bought a dozen. We consumed the last over the weekend. It was an unusual mix of flavours but quite pleasant. Citrus, hint of mint and some red fruit tones. The palate was not overly long or complex but for the price it was good. Not a long keeper. I gave it a score of 88 which is mid range for the way I have seen it over the course of the dozen where I have given from 80 to 91.

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According to WineStar, this new wine is a new label from Bruce Dowding, the man who planted the Rochford vineyard in the Macedon Ranges. The fruit comes from vines in the Gippsland and near-Whitfield regions of Victoria and was made at Kooyong by Sandro Mosele.

A reserved nose; quiet and contemplative. Red cherries and pretty florals, but underlaid with minerals and dried meats. Red fruits on the palate, slightly herbal and drying, smoky sour cherries and a bit of a metallic finish. It is certainly tight on the palate, and leaner than the Coldstream Hills ’05 – I like the style; and it should flesh out with a year or two in the cellar. Another impressive budget Pinot Noir.

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I was given this by a friend who had overstocked. I am not sure how it has been cellared, but I am of course always up for trying a new wine.

Distinct browning and not just at the rim. Initially showed mushroom and earth, some fruit sweetness and oak spice. An ok start, but the palate is the real test and this is where it failed. Caramel and oak, no vibrancy, no gig, just the plod of an old wooden cart through the forest. With time, all it showed was leather and secondary characters. It was still pleasant and drinkable, smooth and all that, but there was nothing interesting left behind. Looked over the hill, or poorly stored.

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