Paringa Estate
Exploring Australia's premier Pinot Noir region, part 2 

My first visit in the Mornington Peninsula was at Paringa Estate, with Lindsay McCall and his son Jamie. Lindsay began Paringa by buying an old orchard back in 1984 when he was still employed as a school teacher, and wine was to remain part-time for the next decade. It took until 1990 to finish planting this home vineyard, which is now 2.5 hectares, and the first vintage was 1988.

'There's a really serious group of people down here,' explains Lindsay, 'and many of them have come from other careers. They really want to make their business work. So there's a lot of collaboration and working together, and many of us are friends socially.' He thinks this is one of the keys to the success of this small but high-profile wine region.

These days, Lindsay sources from four estate vineyards in Red Hill, including the home vineyard, and also has a leased vineyard on Callanan's Road.

The red clay soils are quite vigorous, so vines are trellised on a lyre system (pictured above). It's more expensive to manage, but it gives great results. 'We saw a decline in fruitfulness and an increase in vigour,' explains Lindsay, 'so I tried Scott Henry, and then eventually saw this lyre system being trialled by Garry Crittenden at Dromana Estate.'

Stylistically, the Pinots here have been quite big and ripe in the past, but the excellent 2015 has taken a subtle move in the direction of more restraint. But from this site even the riper wines, such as the big 2014 Reserve Pinot, seem to work. This is rightly regarded as one of the top wineries on the Peninsula.

Since the start, more than 30 years ago, Paringa has grown, but not too much. Around 200 tons pass through the winery each year. There's a really good restaurant on site, as well as a cellar door.

THE WINES

Paringa Estate Peninsula Chardonnay 2015
Powerful, lively and bright with lemon and pear fruit. Spicy and intense with nice weight and focus. 91/100

Paringa Estate Peninsula Chardonnay 2016
14% alcohol. No malo. Lovely intense, fresh, detailed wine with intense lemon and pear fruit with some spicy intensity. Has richness, freshness and minerality all combined. Lovely intensity and vitality here. Stony, mineral finish. 93/100

Paringa Estate Chardonnay 2015
No malo. Taut stone fruits here with lovely citrus and a bright, pithy core, as well as some spice and nut notes. Really vivid with nice freshness and complexity. Very impressive stuff. 94/100

Paringa Estate The Paringa Single Vineyard Chardonnay 2013
Wild ferment and goes through malolactic. Powerful, intense and spicy with nuts, herbs and a slight creaminess under the bright citrus and pear fruit. Complex and broad but also has freshness, and a hint of fennel too. 94/100

Paringa Estate Peninsula Pinot Noir 2015
Juicy and focused with a fresh herby edge to the bright cherry and raspberry fruit with a hint of ginger in the background. Lively and zippy. 91/100

Paringa Estate Pinot Noir 2013
14.5% alcohol. Warm, mellow and spicy with nice depth to the generous spice and herb notes. Very alluring with a fine spiciness under the red cherry and berry fruits. From a warm year and you can taste it. Lovely fine-grained structure. 92/100

Paringa Estate Pinot Noir 2013
Lively, fresh and concentrated with powerful cherry and raspberry fruit. Direct, focused and juicy. 93/100

Paringa Estate Pinot Noir 2015
Juicy, vivid, dense and sweet with lovely bright cherries and plums. There are some raspberries and herbs here with fine spiciness and good acidity. Sweet, open and pretty with lovely silky texture and finesse. Ripe but elegant. 95/100

Paringa Estate Reserve Pinot Noir 2014
100% new oak and 14.9% alcohol. Warm, sweet, ripe wine with fine spices and a hint of earth on the nose. Fresh with a hint of medicine. Warm, spicy and detailed with lovely detail. Compelling and detailed. 94/100   

Paringa Estate The Paringa Single Vineyard Pinot Noir 2013
14.5% alcohol. Lively, slightly lifted aromatic red fruit nose. Some herbs and even a bit of anise. Harmonious, warm palate with fine spices and some pepper and cedar under the red cherry and plum fruit. Warm and generous with a bit of harmony across the palate and nice structure. There’s non-fruit complexity and structure here. 95/100

Paringa Estate Peninsula Shiraz 2015
Very pepper and vivid with lovely meat and blood and black cherry fruit. Has generosity here, too. Lovely stuff with real cool climate intensity and peppery vivacity. 93/100

Paringa Estate Shiraz 2013
Supple and quite elegant with bright pepper and plums as well as raspberries and cherries. Nice intensity and also some elegance. 93/100

Paringa Estate The Paringa Single Vineyard Shiraz 2013
Peppery and elegant with nice focus and brightness. Plums, cherries, and spice. Really elegant and fine. 94/100

Paringa Estate Reserve Shiraz 2007
Black cherries, plums and seductive, focused, slightly tarry fruit. This has some grip and it's quite lovely. 93/100