A pleasant afternoon was spent at the “Naus House” for the first Pinot Noir flight where 8 pinots were sampled and assessed. These included 6 high scoring Victorian pinots from the Yarra Valley and Mornington Peninsula region and 2 from the Burgundy region in France where it is claimed that “Pinot Noir is the greatest red grape of all” We embarked on a journey to see whether this claim held any truth.

 

First up in Flight 1 was Ten Minutes by Tractor, 2017 which was lighter in colour than most of its siblings with strawberry red fruits. This was followed by Seville Estate Pinot Noir from the Yarra Valley, 2018 with its vivid crimson hue that the best Pinot Noir winemakers hope to achieve. It was then onto Giant Steps Applejack Vineyard again from the Yarra Valley, 2018 described as perfumed, flowery bouquet bringing a whole bunch of tannins into play. The last one in this flight is the Domaine Arlaud Bourgogne Rouge 2015 and the first French pinot to be tasted. Aromas of red fruits and undergrowth express the native freshness of this Pinot Noir. 

 

Flight 2 began with Mulline Sutherlands Creek Pinot Noir from Geelong, 2019 light, bright crystal-clear crimson, the bouquet is a complex mix of berry, earth and spice. Next was D.M.L. Pinot Noir from the Yarra Valley, 2019, the colour isn’t as bright as its Mornington Peninsula sibling but the bouquet carries an exotic array of spices and forest berries. This was followed by Yering Station Pinot Noir also from the Yarra Valley, 2012 and is the oldest pinot to be sampled. Our last pinot for the tasting was the Domaine Jerome Galeyrand, Pinot Noir Antonin Bourgogne Rouge 2018 also from the Burgundy region. 

 

Everyone present rated each wine out of 5 and with the help of the wine tasting notes were able to identify the key markers present when tasting the pinot noirs. The tasting characteristics have 4 key categories being floral, fruit, earth and herb/spice. It was an informative event with Peter being very passionate about the merits of pinot and especially when some of the guest’s present would not normally imbibe pinot and came away with a much better understanding of Pinot Noir.

 

We would like to thank our hosts Leon and Bindy for providing their home for this event and finishing off the tasting with a lovely duck risotto and green salad fresh from their garden. We also extend a huge heartfelt thank you to Peter for curating the wines that were to be tasted and also for preparing the wines notes for each of the wines. Thank you too to William for serving the wines.