Vernal Enthusiasm

ANOTHER PINOT Noir has been observed: this example of the demanding feline of the wine world, from young vines at Gemstone Hill within Victoria's Yarra Valley.

The '04 Mayer Vineyard is suprisingly lightly coloured, with charcoal, hoi sin duck marinade and spicy plum on the nose. On the rather short palate, this very juicy, slightly confected, quite hot, semi-sweet wine takes a while to reach full power. Soon white chocolate parfait with dark shavings and kirsch evolve whilst oak spice dissipates.

One of the most aromatic Pinot's encountered, no doubt in part due to a mostly natural fermentation.

Verdict: a tanned, slim Australian wearing sleek designer labels. No attitude, nor muted in her vernally-vinous enthusiasm...

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POSTSCRIPT: the initial impression on the nose of this wine was one of oak, which flew away after a few minutes. Similar to opening a bag of crisps and being hit by a wash of preservative. Along this vein, in a recent blog posting, Jamie Goode writes:

'Have you ever noticed that oak is very much more obvious when you open a bottle and pour it immediately...'