United Cellars Grand Cru Pinot Noir Tasting & Masterclass Series

Angel and Ash. Corner of Angel Place and Ash Street, Sydney CBD, New South Wales, Australia.
Tasted Tuesday, September 16, 2014 by MyCellar01 with 749 views

Introduction

Arrived early for the 6pm start and my tasting companion Beth Clarke and I were underway. Twenty-six Pinots to taste during the three hour event amongst the 150 or so gathered proceeded convivially around the ten tables of wines from Burgundy France, Australia, New Zealand, USA, two from Germany and one each from Austria and Alsace France. Notes were quickfire, less than five minutes per glass and glasses were barely two small mouthfuls each. The last two tables of New Zealand notes suffered considerably from a combination of palate fatigue and the requirement to consume food, a consequence of enjoying too many mouthfuls which were not ejected to the spittoons with the prerequisite regularity.

Flight 1 - Burgundy, France. (8 Notes)

Flight 2 - Mornington Peninsula, Geelong, Yarra Valley and Gippsland of Victoria, and Adelaide Hills of South Australia, Australia. (5 Notes)

  • 2012 Yabby Lake Vineyard Pinot Noir Single Block Release Block 2 93 Points

    Australia, Victoria, Port Phillip, Mornington Peninsula

    Light nose, fig, aniseed, more prevalent with time in the glass. Medium mouthfeel, full fruit flavour, smokey, dark cherry, stalk. Mild acidity freshening from the mid palate thru to the medium finish.

    GW of The Wine Front TN 96. "This was in elite company last night (12 By Farr Farside, 12 Mount Mary, 12 Bass Phillip, 11 De Vogue Musigny etc.), and was one of the best wines."

    Tasting 26 Pinots in 3 hours doesn't leave more than five minutes with each very small serving. Reading Gary Walsh's TN and 96, I purchased 3 the following day to drink at leisure.

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  • 2012 By Farr Pinot Noir "Farrside" 94 Points

    Australia, Victoria, Port Phillip, Geelong

    Very nice nose, little hay. Full mouthfeel, real weight on the palate. Heady fruit 100% dark plum! Big flavour, hay, earthy, real mouthful. Mild acidity, long finish. Big wine.
    GW of The Wine Front TN 96.

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  • 2012 Mount Mary Pinot Noir 93 Points

    Australia, Victoria, Port Phillip, Yarra Valley

    Light nose, very clean, young, smidge aniseed, morning freshness. Medium mouthfeel, medium fruit weight, very pure, clean fruit, medium sweet cherry, seamless transition, very long finish. Enjoyable. Maybe rate the 2010 higher. Very accessible now.
    GW of The Wine Front TN 93+

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  • 2013 Ashton Hills Pinot Noir Reserve 92 Points

    Australia, South Australia, Mount Lofty Ranges, Adelaide Hills

    Medium nose, forest floor, licorice. Medium mouthfeel, white pepper, medium fruit weight, mineral element towards the medium finish. Bass Phillip weight and character.
    CM of The Wine Front TN 95, tasted 16th June 2014.

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  • 2012 Bass Phillip Pinot Noir Estate 92 Points

    Australia, Victoria, Gippsland

    Medium nose, light dry hay, spice. Medium-full mouthfeel, medium-full fruit, sweet cherry, dark plum, red licorice, French oak spice. Medium finish, drying tannins.
    GW of The Wine Front TN 95.

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Flight 3 - Sonoma County California and Willamette Valley Oregon, USA. (3 Notes)

Flight 4 - Austria, Alsace France and Baden Germany. (4 Notes)

Flight 5 - Otago, Canterbury and Wairarapa, New Zealand. (5 Notes)

  • 2013 Felton Road Pinot Noir Bannockburn 91 Points

    New Zealand, South Island, Otago, Bannockburn

    Beautiful pinot nose, aniseed. Medium mouthfeel, slight heat, mild sour cherry, light fruit, mild acidity.

    GW of The Wine Front TN 94. His note was written prior to the event on August 29th 2014. Have 6 in the cellar, whilst I marked this down on the night, (possibly 'slight heat' on the palate), I don't usually open Felton Road Pinot Noir until four to six years of age.

    This was also tasted from the last table of five wines from twenty-six wines at the three hour event, palate exhaustion, confusion or all of the above.

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  • 2011 Rippon Pinot Noir Mature Vine 91 Points

    New Zealand, South Island, Otago, Lake Wanaka

    Enjoyable nose, floral, forest floor, mild aniseed, stalk. Bright entry, forthright fruit, red berries, complex transition to mid palate, more excitement, chewy tannins, long finish. NZ Pinot.

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  • 2012 Ata Rangi Pinot Noir 90 Points

    New Zealand, North Island, Wairarapa, Martinborough

    Nice medium pinot nose, strung out fruit, light, slight astringency, sour cherry, not the best Ata Rangi, medium acidity from the mid palate.

    GW of The Wine Front TN 93. Though in subsequent comments, "Yes. Ummd and ahhd a bit on it. One minute 93, the next 91 or so. Think it likely to come together with a few more year under its belt."

    Again with the last flight, my notes were lower than GW's; palate exhaustion.

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  • 2011 Bell Hill Pinot Noir

    New Zealand, South Island, Canterbury

    Medium pinot nose, a little alcohol. Light mouthfeel, mild cherry, flat mid palate, medium finish, medium acidity, goldilocks neither good nor bad.

    GW of The Wine Front TN 96. "Brilliant wine."

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  • 2012 Dry River Pinot Noir

    New Zealand, North Island, Wairarapa, Martinborough

    Saucy nose, stood apart in that respect. But as with my previous '08, a short finish which doesn't justify the price.
    GW of The Wine Front TN 90.

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Closing

The star of the evening was the 2011 Domaine Comte Georges de Vogue Musigny Vieilles Vignes, and though I would like a half dozen in the cellar, the current Recommended Retail Price of $1,100 AUD was a deal breaker.

Also on song was the 2007 Domaine Taupenot-Merme Mazoyeres-Chambertin, at RRP $199 AUD.

Two wines highly rated by Gary Walsh of The Wine Front not in my cellar were;

* 2011 Huber Spatburgunder Alte Reben, 95 points, and
* 2012 Yabby Lake Vineyard Pinot Noir Block 2

were purchased the following day for a future tasting in a less expeditious time frame.

The crime perpetrated by the Australian government on the finances of its citizens oenologically inclined, by the impost of the 29% Wine Equalisation Tax (WET) and 10% Goods and Services Tax (GST), in addition to the devaluation of the South Pacific Peso (AUD) is laid bare on CellarTracker in the comparative cost of adding a bottle of French Burgundy to the cellar in Australia and that of the United States. Vive la France!

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