Wignalls Pinot Noir, 2017. Albany
For non West Australians, Albany is generally amongst the wettest and coolest parts of the State. The Southern Ocean dominates the climate – the wind blows, it drizzles a lot, and the weather can be similar in summer to winter (compared to the extremes elsewhere). Viticulture can be tough along the coastal stretch, and though scenically quite spectacular Albany (and Denmark and Walpole) can be quite an unforgiving place to grow grapes. Further from the coast, along a similar latitude, the Porongurups, Mt Barker and Frankland tend to have more success.
Wignalls were an early mover for WA Pinot, and established a strong reputation in those early years. I’d like to know more about the wines from their first decade or so: how they were made, the clonal mix, how long they lasted. Over the years the price has remained very reasonable (still around the $35 mark). It is worth checking out their website as it has this fascinating aggressive / defensive tone to it. It proudly cites a 2004 rating as one of Australia’s top cellar doors, an interesting blast from the past! On top of that, it references Wignalls trophy hauls over the years, declaring ‘such an experience and recognition does not occur by accident’ – as if someone were suggesting it were.
Onto the wine then, the 2017 Pinot Noir. Deep bouquet here, very sour cherry dominant. Doesn’t quite translate to the palate, which is quite thin, astringent, unexciting. Flavour wise, its that oft seen marriage between the sour cherry and medicinal notes – plus some blackberry / only-just-ripened raspberry notes. It’s got a nice, creamy / silky texture to it, and good acidity, indeed the wine would work well with the right dish, something rich and salty. From what was a pretty tough year for Southern WA, this is a drink now prospect, and if I had to score this it would be around that 87 – 88 mark.
Below and Above Pinot Noir. 2019. Pemberton.
Below and Above is the label for the fruit that comes from the (from the outside looking in) very well run Thella Estate, picking off what they consider to be the choicest Pinot fruit from this sizeable vineyard. The mix of clones is quite interesting – 114, 115 & 777 are widespread, well known, high quality Pinot clones. G8V3 is one of the Martini clones (from California), whilst the close-planted portion comes from 667, a high regarded Dijon clone that apparently gives concentration and finesse in the tannins. Apparently this wine was pretty tight and tough as a youngster – its hard to reconcile that with my first experience of the wine.
Aromatically, this opens up with rather joyous, exotic notes that hint at the lightness and prettiness to come. The first sip follows on in this manner, in an uplifting style that shakes off a touch of the twiggy / brambly notes to evolve into bright, floral, slightly musky flavours. To that, you could add primary notes along the lines of fairly floss, newly ripened strawberries and rose petals. There is a deft touch on the oak, quite appropriate for the style, and soft, powdery tannins. On day two the mid palate had a juicy, fleshy core to it and filled out nicely. The art world equivalent of this wine might be a beautifully detailed, pink dominant watercolour painting where ‘less is more’. Could only be Pinot Noir: this is an excellent wine, with more to come from this address, no doubt. 12% alc.
Chateau June Jerome Pinot Noir. 2019. Manjimup
From a vineyard just West of the Manjimup township. Interesting little project, fairly new & seems to have quite a few boxes ticked already. I’m looking forward to learning more about it, and tasting a bit more from this producer.
The screw cap came off with a bit of a pop, releasing some co2, and revealing a wine with a vibrant medium red purple hue. Palate and bouquet are very much aligned in flavours. Initially there is an assault of flavours in tune with fully ripened wines made in this region, with strong brambly, foresty and slightly stemmy/twiggy notes bouncing off each other. You could add earthy, fleshy beetroot flavours to that, which fill out the mid palate. Lingering underneath, and becoming more prevalent with air are the first signs of some attractive savoury toffee /caramel elements that will build with time. A bit of CO2 prickle remained in the wine throughout, which hopefully will dissipate in time or with air. Whilst this on the extreme end of what a Southern Forests Pinot can taste like, this wine seems comfortable doing its thing, and will likely hit a sweet spot in 3-5 years.
The Wine Accomplice 