Pinotphiles in full swing
Winsor Dobbin
Tasting award-winning pinot noir at Stonier's, Mornington Peninsula,Victoria [©VV]
Mornington Peninsula winery Stonier held its 10th annual Stonier International Pinot Noir Tasting (SIPNOT) showcase of world class pinots at the Art Gallery of New South Wales in Sydney on September 21.
With winemakers like Curly Flat’s Phil Moraghan, Farr Rising’s Nick Farr and Maude’s Sarah-Kate Dineen in attendance and with leading wine writers, sommeliers and retailers in the crowd, along with a hundred or so pinot-loving consumers, the evening was more a look at evolving pinot styles around the world than a competition.
Surrounded by art works, the assembled throng enjoyed the contrasts between the many expressions of pinot noir with two brackets served blind of some of the best New World 2007 pinot noirs (from Australia, New Zealand and California - and surprisingly not Oregon) and a selection of Burgundies from the 2006 vintage.
Paul Henry, general manager market development for the Australian Wine and Brandy corporation, was the moderator with a panel of leading wine journalist Huon Hooke, writer, auctioneer and wine judge Andrew Caillard MW and leading US wine educator Evan Goldstein providing expert insight.
Table Captains, including yours truly, shared the sometimes colourful opinions of tasters throughout the night, with questions from the floor fielded by the panel.
Stonier winemaker Mike Symons said: “Pinot noir’s often beguiling qualities created lots of colourful discussions and differences of opinion. Varietal typicity and the differences in regional expression were of key focus.
“Interestingly, many were intrigued by the ‘context’ of how and where the wines are tasted, with discussion exploring the raft of possible views and how they may change in a different setting and with an international audience – are our palates trained a certain way for a certain ‘style’ of pinot noir?”
The 2006 Burgundies inspired discussion from many in the room with the final wine of the night, the Grand Cru 2006 Domaine Jean Grivot Echezeaux in particular attracting a lot of attention – it was a polarising wine with online columnist Gary Walsh feeling it had immense potential and yours truly doubting if it would ever recover from the lashings of oak it had received.
The Australian pinots in the line-up were generally regarded as being of excellent quality and offering good value for money – and Stonier founder Brian Stonier, who was in attendance, would have been happy with the reception the 2007 Stonier Reserve received.
The line-up of wines for SIPNOT 2009 (in the order tasted) was: 2007 Maude Pinot Noir (Central Otago, NZ), 2006 Domaine Jean-Claude Boisset Gevrey Chambertin Lavaut St Jacques (Premier Cru, Burgundy, France), 2006 Gary Farrell Hallberg Vineyard Pinot Noir (Russian River Valley, Sonoma, USA), 2007 Farr Rising Geelong Pinot Noir (Geelong, Australia) 2006 Domaine Montille Pommard Les Rugiens (Premier Cru, Burgundy, France), 2006 Paul Hobbs Ulises Valdez Vineyard Pinot Noir (Russian River Valley, Sonoma, USA), 2006 Domaine Joseph Drouhin Beaune ‘Close des Mouches’ Rouge (Premier Cru, Burgundy, France), 2007 Stonier Reserve Pinot Noir (Mornington Peninsula, Victoria, Australia), 2006 Papapietro Perry Mukaida Vineyard Pinot Noir (Russian River Valley, Sonoma, USA), 2007 Holyman Pinot Noir (Tamar Valley, Tasmania, Australia), 2007 Mt Difficulty Pipeclay Terrace Pinot Noir (Bannockburn, Central Otago, NZ) and 2006 Domaine Jean Grivot Echezeaux (Grand Cru, Burgundy, France).
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