Goode’s Cribsheets (5) Victorian Pinot Noir
Victoria may be the second smallest state in Australia, but it has an amazing diversity of wine regions, including many of Australia’s top spots for Pinot Noir. Here’s my latest crib sheet – a personal selection of producers whose wines I’m always looking for in wine shops and on restaurant lists. This is quite a list, and I worry that despite the length of it, I’ve left many deserving producers out!
[The ‘crib sheet’ concept: my top tips on vinous themes. A personal ‘insider’s take’ that I hope will be useful, based on my experiences travelling the wine world and tasting widely. Honest and unbiased. And as a special feature I’m adding a confidence percentage at the end: how sure am I of these recommendations? Sometimes I have a lot of experience in a particular region, and I’m fully confident. In other cases I have enough experience to produce a crib sheet, but I may well have missed a few producers or wines because it’s not possible to taste everything. I apologise to producers who I’ve missed out on these lists, often for space reasons, but these crib sheets are meant for consumers and I can’t keep everyone happy.]
- Bindi, Macedon Ranges (stunning wines, buy any you find)
- Place of Changing Winds, Macedon Ranges (the newcomer, close-planted vineyards, buy everything)
- Giant Steps (stunning wines, especially the new Bastard Hill and Applejack)
- Oakridge (best known for Chardonnay, but try the Henk and Hazeldene Pinots)
- William Downie, Gippsland (especially Camp Hill and Bull Swamp)
- Bicknell FC, Yarra
- Timo Mayer, Yarra (low intervention goodness)
- Mac Forbes, Yarra (early picking, attention to detail)
- Granite Hills, Macedon Ranges
- Marnong, Sunbury
- Fleet, Gippsland (especially Leognatha)
- 10 Minutes x Tractor, Mornington
- Kooyong, Mornington
- Crittenden, Mornington
- Ocean Eight, Mornington (taut, with real elegance)
- Paringa, Mornington (richer style but lovely)
- Yabby Lake, Mornington
- Bass Philip, Gippsland
- By Farr, Geelong
