Tuesday 23 August 2011

Stonier Mornington Peninsula Pinot Noir

This wine, from the beautiful Mornington Peninsula to the east of Melbourne in Victoria State,
is everything that a good wine should be . It reflects the regional character of the peninsula which has a cool maritime climate. The Pinot Noir grapes grown here are obviously suited to the climate. The wine is fresh and elegant and is redolent of a good red burgundy. My wife, whose family is from the Burgundy region, loved this wine so this is praise indeed.

It is a shame that the Australians tend to keep the best wines for themselves so you have to search around for a wine of this quality. At ten pounds a bottle it competes favourably with good wines from Europe and it is very good value for money. We drank it with roast fillet of pork and afterwards it went down well with some mild welsh cheeses.

If ever you are in Victoria it is well worth a trip around the vineyards to taste some excellent wines which never find their way to Europe.

Wine: Stonier Mornington Peninsula Pinot Noir 2009
Date: 12 August 2011
Appearance: It has a clear, bright and burgundy colour which is lighter at the meniscus. Produced tears
Nose: It has a clean and pronounced nose with red fruits and cherries. It has some vegetal tones reminiscent of a burgundy. The wine is youthful but should be drunk now.
Palate: It is dry with medium, tannins, body and acidity. It had an exceptionally long length.It is a concentrated, complex and well integrated wine with a taste of vanilla, plums and cherries with a slightly vegetal undertone.
Other observations: It is a fresh, well integrated and well structured wine. Although it is matured in oak barrels it is does not taste overly of oak. The wine is not jammy either but it is rather subtle. Overall, this is a very good quality wine which compares favourably with Burgundy. It is 13% alcohol.
Price: About £10 imported by Bibendum.