RICHARD SAYS
2024 Bream Creek Pinot Noir Tasmania
RRP $50, ABV 13.5%
Pinot Noir is a winemakers’ darling – difficult to grow and then harder to achieve a stylish wine – with challenges and opportunities galore as the wine sulks and tempts on its journey. As a disloyal Pinot Noir buyer, I seldom admire any company’s wines even in two consecutive years – but here’s one! I purchased the previous vintage, and this 2024 example absolutely delighted me. The best Tasmanian Pinot Noirs can be stellar- and 2024 provided plenty. Production is low, and this wine is not exactly cheap, but thrills galore are the payoff.
It’s a gorgeous bright crimson colour, and all sorts of scents begin the seduction- fragrant dark cherry with a wisp of raspberry, assorted spices, an intrigue of earthiness; then the palate takes over – its silky, fresh, bright and sensual with persistence. Red fruits reign, oak is a servant, it has the x-factor, plus the drive to encourage that extra taste. Absolutely lovely stuff.
Now: This will easily cellar for at least five years, but damn; it’s delicious already! I keep recommending duck in its many guises as a winning food match; but I can be easily tempted by an array of fine cheeses – camembert, cheddar, gruyere. Or a simple roast chook.
GRANT SAYS
Mt Langi Ghiran ‘Cliff Edge’ Shiraz 2021 Grampians
RRP $35, ABV 14.5%
If you’re looking to explore the wonderful array of shiraz this country has to offer that is outside of the understandably popular South Australia, then may I recommend your first stop be this absolute beauty. The Grampians seem to produce a shiraz style unique from anywhere else, perhaps due to its specific Swiss clone brought over and planted in 1963. It appears to marry seamlessly with Western Victoria’s rich soils laden with ancient granite and its high altitudes coupled with long, hot summers. This shiraz is bold, very dark and inky in the glass, and provides the body and plushness us Australians can’t get enough of. But there’s a savoury edge that matches the rich fruit. The 2021 vintage shows aromatics of dark liquorice, cracked black pepper, baking spice, potpourri, and a luscious blackcurrant that oozes around the edges. The Cliff Edge Shiraz spends a good 14 months resting in French oak barriques, 30 percent of which is brand new. This treatment shines through over the palate where jubey fruits (think ripe cherry, wild blackberry and plums) are framed by an earthy, slaty and exquisite vanilla bean note. There’s a gamey, ferrous element that also just hums along in the background. The finish is all about the well integrated, textural tannins which show promise for long term cellaring. The RRP on this is very underpriced for the quality. So get in quick before demand sees the price of this wine meets its true value.
Pair with: Argentinian style BBQ grill of beef skewers, offal and blood sausage with a creamy and zesty potato salad.
