Kooyong Pinot Noir 2006 Thursday, Apr 24 2008
Tasting Notes and Australia and Mornington and Variety and Red and pinot noir
I attended a blind tasting of Pinots the other night and was blown away by how good this wine looked. My initial reaction was that it was New World with lovely red berry fruits. However, like many young Pinots it changed quite a bit over the 20 minutes that I tasted it. The colour was reasonably dark and the nose had a hint of sweet and sour style fruit flavours that I often associate with Central Otago. A few minutes later these aromas resolved into cherry and a bit of blackberry. The palate showed superb length with the cherry of the black, intense flavour type. The tannins were firm suggesting this will continue to deliver for some time. A very impressive wine.
Tasted : Apr08
Alcohol : 13.5%
Price : $40
Closure : Diam
Drink : 2008 - 2016
Source : Friend
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35 Responses to “Kooyong Pinot Noir 2006”
April 24th, 2008 at 1:29 pm
You return with a bang. A big score indeed.
April 24th, 2008 at 1:42 pm
I was thinking more along the lines of…”there goes the neighbourhood..”
GW
April 24th, 2008 at 1:42 pm
Well deserved score, even though Sandro accused me of having a warped palate at a meeting earlier in the day (his tongue firmly in his cheek).
April 24th, 2008 at 1:58 pm
David, how do you think this compares to the 05s. The Haven and Ferrous seemed to be setting the benchmark in the 05 MP Pinots, do u think this has taken a step up again?
April 24th, 2008 at 2:09 pm
Of your suggestions Haven was my preferred wine although I did prefer another MP wine but it was from some insignificant maker whose name I forget. However, for PN’s that were available in restaurants and across the country the Haven and the Paringa were excellent. I can’t find my notes but I am sure I loved the Moorooduc 2005 as well. I have tried a lot of Bourgogne from 2005 which comes in $35 to $95 range as well as many from NZ and I think the New World has nothing to be ashamed of, especially when under screwcap or diam.
April 24th, 2008 at 2:14 pm
On a similar note - did the tasting include any of the single vineyard wines (is it Meres, Ferrous and Haven)? Seems a lot harder to get to try these (however why bother if the standard is better - of course subject to personal taste).
April 24th, 2008 at 2:23 pm
No the tasting was very broad, never more than one wine from any producer and it included wine from old world and new world. I suspect the special stuff hasn’t been released yet!
April 25th, 2008 at 9:40 am
ha ha David - I assume you’re being a bit self disparaging?? I’ve never tried your wine before but will try and hunt one down.
April 28th, 2008 at 9:49 am
I’m not usually a flag waver for Australian - and specifically Mornington - pinot, but this was very good. Great value and compares against higher priced pinots
April 28th, 2008 at 5:14 pm
A lot of great PN will be released from 2006 including from the Mornington. I have consumed a lot of Bourgogne from 2003, 2004, 2005 as well as a fair bit of higher ranked wine along with PN from NZ and US. I reckon 2006 aussie PN from $20 to $60 is going to be right up there and considering all the allocation problems with obtaining Burgundy downunder, it is excellent timing for all us Pinotphiles.
April 29th, 2008 at 8:41 am
David said :
We look forward to more of your ‘06 pinot recommendations. Good to see you back on the horse!
April 29th, 2008 at 2:41 pm
I am wondering if the insignificant producer you refer to might be Hurley. They are a very small, but excellent MP producer. Their 3 05 PNs were very impressive. I thought noticeably ahead of the very fine Kooyongs, as well as the Moorooduc - tho the Main Ridge Half Acre was pretty impressive as well.
April 29th, 2008 at 9:40 pm
Hurley are good but are not insignificant. Ant got it.
April 30th, 2008 at 8:51 am
As the prize can i request that GW or Linc review your upcoming pinot?
April 30th, 2008 at 9:02 am
Too much of a kerfuffle I think. I sent Linc up a bottle of my wine last week (06 Mountain X Shiraz Pinot) but asked that he not review it here. Not that either of us would not be honest about it.
GW
April 30th, 2008 at 1:44 pm
Most of my wine is sold at cellar door or mailing list. People usually try it before they buy. I respect GW and Linc but am happy to keep it out of the limelight. One problem with wines is that some get scores based on how they open and some get a score that is given with a view to cellaring. Most reviewers give a score and a guide to how long it should last in the cellar but essentially its how it looks now. I looked at a bunch of Pinot reviews with a friend yesterday as we compared hers with a few of the others in the review because she wanted my thoughts on where her Pinot would sit. First look was a score of about 90, an hour later probably 92/3 and I suspect, knowing how her wines travel, about 95 in 12 months. I like mine to age so in a line up we tend not to shine. There are exceptional years where the aromas are very seductive early. My 2005 didn’t really hit its straps until July/Aug last year. The Kooyong, Epis and Stonier Reserve are quite different but are all very approachable (insert tec word: Yummy) at the moment.
April 30th, 2008 at 2:07 pm
I don’t rate exactly on how they are now. I factor in improvement and try and look forward as best I can (although it is tricky and actually one of the positive points of not tasting blind). It’s also why I often use the + sign for X Factor.
GW
April 30th, 2008 at 3:30 pm
Poignant topic. I just picked up a copy of The Bid Red Wine Book, and I was trying to decipher the difference between some of Campbell’s scores, yours and JOs. My hypothesis, and I have no idea whether its correct, was that JO scores more highly for age worthy bottles, whereas Campbell was scoring on a combo of age worthy and what it tasted like now. GW I like your + cause it tells me I should leave it alone for a while. I thought the comparison of scores for Saltram No.1 was a good example of this, as well as Coldstream Reserve Pinot. I guess thats why the description is probably more important than the score.
April 30th, 2008 at 3:40 pm
Saltram No.1 I think is CM89, JO95 and JH96. I don’t think he is rating on drink now as much as the fact that he does not like the style of the wine. My use of + sign sort of indicates that I think it has the potential to improve, I am fairly sure of it, but it may not. Even if a wine is tough going now I still rate on how I think it will be. Others may not. Don’t know. An example is I would give the 04 Wolf Blass Platinum about 87 as drinking now but (think) I rated it 94 or so.
GW
April 30th, 2008 at 3:45 pm
David said :
And that’s the 4 million dollar question.
If you walk into a restaurant to sell them a wine do you;
a) open it fresh (because that’s how the consumer is going to get it)
b) have it open for a few hours before hand because that’s how it’s going to look when the restaurant is selling it by the glass. i.e. the restaurant wants to know that the wine will hold up over hours.
The answer is all of the above.
April 30th, 2008 at 6:22 pm
Well restaurants should probably range more accessible wines like Rhone blends.
GW
April 30th, 2008 at 10:57 pm
Dan, don’t you range any Rhone blends? BTW, how does a Syrah/PN fit into this discussion:-) But as you observe, it aint easy.
May 1st, 2008 at 9:00 am
How about a rating system with two scores: one for drinkability now and another for how you perceive it will be at its peak?
May 1st, 2008 at 9:07 am
Can of worms.
GW
May 1st, 2008 at 11:15 am
I had a bottle of this last night with some stuffed courgettes (life’s never too short to stuff a vegetable) and it was bloody marvellous.
I’m not a keen pinot drinker, and as I’ve stated before, I’m an even less keen Australian Pinot drinker, but this was delicious. Bright fruit balanced with some earthiness and a wonderful structure. Will be buying more, and at the price it’s a steal
May 14th, 2008 at 6:11 pm
I just got a delivery of this, the 05 estate and Ferrago chardonnays and some william downie PN… wetting my pants in anticipation!!
May 14th, 2008 at 8:46 pm
Zhan said :
Lucky man.. where did you go for the william downie?
May 15th, 2008 at 10:12 am
Bocacchio cellars in Melbourne delivered them. Great prices and free delivery. I think the William Downie was $49 for the mornington one. The Kooyongs were cheaper than from celllar door or anywhere else I looked.
May 17th, 2008 at 4:20 pm
I just found through wine robot, Vintage direct selling the 2006 estate PN for $19.99! what the…. and rubbing my eyes in disbelief!!
May 17th, 2008 at 5:38 pm
If it was, they’ve changed it now. Mistake for sure. Did you buy some?
May 17th, 2008 at 9:06 pm
Yes I sure did! It was a mistake and yes they’ve changed it now. One of those rare moments hey…
June 10th, 2008 at 12:59 pm
Cracked a second of these last night. It really is a ripping pinot. Spotless and elegant, structured, great fruit.
June 10th, 2008 at 1:08 pm
Oh good. A sample turned up last week so I’m looking forward to adding my two bobs worth.
GW
June 10th, 2008 at 1:23 pm
ChrisV said :
You’ve hit the nail on the head with the comment on structure. My constant gripe with Australian pinot is that it can tend to be fruit forward and forgetful of structure and secondary characters. The kooyong has a little grunt to it.
Which reminds me, I saw a car on hoddle street on Saturday (i say car, I mean ute) with the sticker ‘if you want more grunt root a pig’ on it. I had to pinch myself to remind that I hadn’t slipped back in time. Or that I was in Queensland.
June 10th, 2008 at 1:40 pm
I was in Cairns a few years ago and saw Pig Shooters Monthly (maybe quarterly) in the newsagents. It had pictures of dead pigs with their wives/girlfriends posing in bikini’s next to them. It takes all sorts….
GW