16 of Australia’s Best Pinot Noirs
…from 14 producers
Bass Phillip | Bindi | Bream Creek | Felton Road | Giant Steps | Lowestoft | Marchand & Burch | Picardy | Pooley | Shepherds Hut | Stefano Lubiana | Tolpuddle | William Downie | Yabby Lake
Saturday, August 22nd
Hosted by JJ
Masterclass: 3–5pm |16 wines & canapés | $295
Some are very expensive, some very rare
… and some are the best reviewed …
Most are multi-trophy award winners …local and overseas, and this may be your only
opportunity to try some of these.
16 Pinots including…
2023 Tolpuddle Pinot Noir
Tyson Stelzer Top 250 Australian Wines of 2024
“Tolpuddle Vineyard is making arguably the greatest pinot noir in Australia." James Suckling
97 Points - Huon Hooke, The Real Review
97 Points - Andrew Caillard MW, The Vintage Journal
96 Points - Erin Larkin, Robert Parker’s The Wine Advocate
96 Points - Dave Brookes, Halliday Wine Companion
96 points and Top 250 Australian Wines of 2024 - James Suckling, JamesSuckling.com
95 Points - Shanteh Wale, Wine Pilot
2023 Lowestof La Maison Pinot Noir
National Wine Show of Australia: Pinot Noir Trophy (Best Pinot Noir)
Awarded 3 trophies and a gold medal at the 2024 Royal Hobart Wine Show
Best Pinot Noir Dry Red
Best Tasmanian Red Wine
Best Individual Vineyard Table Wine
96 Points - Dave Brookes, Halliday Wine Companion
Decanter World Wine Awards: 95 Points, Gold
2024 Giant Steps Sexton Pinot Noir
Best Pinot Noir Trophy at the Australian National Wine Show
Australia Pinot Noir Challenge: Trophy for Best of Region
Perth Royal Wine Awards: Gold Medal
Royal Queensland Wine Awards: Gold Medal
96 Points - Philip Rich, Halliday Wine Companion
2022 Picardy Tete de Cuvee Pinot Noir
99 Points - Ray Jordan, rayjordanwine.com
“Picardy’s 2022 Pinot Noir is another jump in quality … as the new clones exert their influence … My favourite yet, and easily”
JJ
Ken Gargett | Bindi Block 8 Pinot Noir Australian Wine: A Peacock’s Tail Of Exploding Flavors
Recently, I was looking at contenders for Australia’s best Pinot Noir. There are quite a few: Bass Phillip, By Farr, Main Ridge, Chatto, Hurley, Giaconda, Moorooduc Estate, Curly Flat, Kooyong, Freycinet, Paringa, Bannockburn, William Downie, Yabby Lake, Coldstream Hills, Ten Minutes by Tractor, Prancing Horse, and many others who will be outraged at being undeservedly left off the list. Many more have put up stellar Pinots on occasion but have not always exhibited consistency, which can be hard to do with this grape.
There is one maker, however, who has not only been extraordinarily consistent but produced world class Pinot (and Chardonnay) vintage after vintage across the board: Bindi Wines, thanks to owner and winemaker Michael Dhillon. It would be a brave critic to leave Bindi out of any list of great Aussie Pinots.
The Wine List
~ In alphabetical order ~
2021 Bass Phillip Estate Reserve Pinot Noir
2024 Bass Phillip Premium Pinot Noir
Ranked#1 of 17 2024 Pinot Noir from Gippsland | The Real Review
Deep ruby to garnet with bold, bright red cherry to red plum and Campari aromas, laced with broken rock mineral nuances, the palate firm and tense with grip and serious intent, and took a while to open up and reveal its wonderful display of fruit. Firm and somewhat shy at first pour, with oak still evident, it has great depth and should reveal even more if given time. Pour it into as big-bowl glass.
97 Points - Huon Hooke, The Real Review
2023 Bindi Block 5 Pinot Noir
Ranked#2 of 24 2023 Pinot Noir from Macedon Ranges | The Real Review
Deep-ish red with a good purple tint; black cherry and blackberry aromas, the flavour bold and medium-full in body, with mysterious depths and plenty of tannin making for a more structured pinot. Foresty underbrush characters come with time in the glass. A bigger, more robust and concentrated style for this maker and promises to have a long and rewarding career. It's still emerging at this stage and shows great potential.
97 Points - Huon Hooke, The Real Review
2023 Bindi Block 8 Pinot Noir
Ranked#6 of 24 2023 Pinot Noir from Macedon Ranges | The Real Review
95 Points - Huon Hooke, The Real Review
96 Points - Halliday Wine Companion
While the ’23 and ’24 vintages of Bindi’s top wines are being released in tandem due to low yields, it’s so insightful to taste the wines together. Today, I prefer the ’23 of this over the ’24. Tomorrow, who knows? This has morphed into a wine of restraint, perhaps delicacy, yet there’s a certain power and definition, too. The tannins are refined, the palate elegant and the finish long. A delight to drink now and for quite a few years hence.
96 Points - Jane Faulkner, Halliday Wine Companion
2024 Bream Creek Reserve Pinot Noir [New Release]
2024 Felton Road Block 5 Pinot Noir [Magnum]
97 Points - Stephen Wong, The Real Review
96 Points - James Suckling, JamesSuckling.com
"Dark cherry and black raspberry lead to more brooding but very concentrated flavours of violet, coffee, cocoa and earthy minerality on the firmly structured and muscular palate. Currently closed and inward but with great length, this is clearly very serious with plenty of substance but it will need time to unclench and relax. Drink: 2028-2045."
97 Points - Stephen Wong, The Real Review
2024 Giant Steps Sexton Pinot Noir
Best Pinot Noir Trophy at the Australian National Wine Show
Australia Pinot Noir Challenge: Trophy for Best of Region
Perth Royal Wine Awards: Gold Medal
Royal Queensland Wine Awards: Gold Medal
From the Sexton vineyard in Gruyere planted in the late '90s. 100% destemmed. A deep crimson ruby. Aromas of ripe dark raspberries, blackcurrant pastilles (these were always my favourite) and even a little kirsch. A touch of rose bush. The palate is juicy and fleshy and the wine's ripe, plush tannins make this, along with the Primavera, the richest, meatiest and most immediate of the four single-vineyard pinots in '24. Having said this, you'd be happy if you found some laying around the cellar in eight or so years.
96 Points - Philip Rich, Halliday Wine Companion
2023 Lowestoft La Maison Pinot Noir
National Wine Show of Australia: Pinot Noir Trophy (Best Pinot Noir)
Royal Hobart Wine Show: Best Pinot Noir, Best Tasmanian Red Wine, Best Individual Vineyard Table Wine, and Gold Medal
Australian Pinot Noir Challenge: Top Gold
Decanter World Wine Awards: 95 Points, Gold
Made with 100% whole cluster, pressed directly to 500L French oak puncheons (15% new) for 13 months. There's a lot going on here – all of it good. Bright red cherry, red plum and raspberry pip tones with hints of cocoa powder, pomegranate, Chinese barbecue joint, amaro, souk-like spice, leaf litter, struck flint, XO sauce, shiitake broth and earth. Pure and spicy red fruits, fine, powdery tannins and a mineral-laden acidity that seems to pull the flavours forward on the palate, finishing long, savoury and true with everything plumb and tickety boo. Just lovely.
96 Points - Dave Brookes, Halliday Wine Companion
2023 Marchand & Burch Mt Barrow Pinot Noir
97 Points & “equisetley balanced” - Ray Jordan, rayjordanwine.com
94+ Points - Tom Kline, Wine Pilot
This is such a brilliant pinot with the structure, the prettiness and the palate feel you seek with this variety. Pretty it might be, but this has a tight structural core guiding it. The fragrances are all cherry and roses. The palate is deceptively powerful, almost belying its light colour. A tight thread of fine tannins weaves through supporting the intense red fruits. This is a high-class wine showing just how good this region is.
97 Points - Ray Jordan, rayjordanwine.com
2022 Picardy Tete de Cuvee Pinot Noir
99 Points- Ray Jordan, rayjordanwine.com
#6 of 27 2022 Pinot Noir from Western Australia | The Real Review
96 Points - Shanteh Wale, Wine Pilot
Wow, this is something special…very special. This is at the pinnacle of the Pannell family’s quest for great pinot noir. The 2020 vintage is spoken of in hushed tones, yet this one is pushing it all the way. It was a little closed when tasted but you don’t have to look far to see its greatness. It’s a multi-clonal blend which contributes to its complexity and feel on so many levels. It’s exquisitely balanced and poised yet it carries an explosive payload of intensity and layered complexity.
99 Points- Ray Jordan, rayjordanwine.com
Picardy’s 2022 Pinot Noir is another jump in quality … as the new clones exert their influence … My favourite yet, and easily …
JJ
2023 Pooley 'Oronsay' Cooinda Vale Pinot Noir
97 Points - Dave Brookes, Halliday Wine Companion
95 Points - Huon Hooke, The Real Review
94 Points - Erin Larkin, The Wine Advocate
Pinot noir sourced from the Cooinda Vale vineyard in Campania, Coal River Valley; 80% whole bunch, 121 months in French oak, 50% new. Jeepers, this is in fine form this year. It's stony, savoury and complex, with layers of spice, leaf litter, game and amaro suffusing through the pure plum, sour cherry and cranberry fruits. It purrs. Like that Fastback Mustang that I lust after … all classic, graceful lines and a simmering latent power beneath the hood. Draws out long on the finish, too, with a lithe, minerally line daubed with game and spicy complexity. Drink 2024 to 2038.
97 Points - Dave Brookes, Halliday Wine Companion
2024 Shepherds Hut Michael Mayo Pinot Noir
I love the nose for its seductive allure. Plush, ripe strawberry tinged fruit jumps from the glass. It took a bit of air before this really came to life, with dark cherry fruit, textural tannins and refreshing acidity all combining into a rather splendid drink. At this early stage, this is not a showy wine, rather, it is something to be sipped and savoured, whilst contemplating life’s great mysteries (such as whether to have beef cheeks or bolognaise for dinner accompanied by this fine wine). 13.2% alc.
95 Points - Barry Weinman
2023 Stefano Lubiana Sasso Pinot Noir
96 Points - James Suckling, James Suckling.com
96 Points - Dave Brookes, Halliday Wine Companion
96 Points - Campbell Mattinson, The Wine Front
A single-vineyard pinot noir that is a blend of three different terroirs in the Lubiana estate – Il Giardino, Ruscello and La Roccia. 100% whole bunch, 12 months' maturation in seasoned French oak barriques. Pure wild strawberry, dark cherry and raspberry fruits suffused with exotic spice, hanging game meats, amaro herbs, crushed rock, tamari, dried shiitake, dried meadow flowers and earth. Balanced and fruit pure with a gentle gamey facet, tight, chalky tannins and briny acid cadence. Fades off slowly with grace and style.
96 Points - Dave Brookes, Halliday Wine Companion
2023 Tolpuddle Pinot Noir
Tyson Stelzer Top 250 Australian Wines of 2024
“Tolpuddle Vineyard is making arguably the greatest pinot noir in Australia." James Suckling
97 Points - Huon Hooke, The Real Review
97 Points - Andrew Caillard MW, The Vintage Journal
96 Points - Erin Larkin, Robert Parker’s The Wine Advocate
96 Points - Dave Brookes, Halliday Wine Companion
96 points and Top 250 Australian Wines of 2024 - James Suckling, JamesSuckling.com
95 Points - Shanteh Wale, Wine Pilot
Deep red-purple, bright and clear colour; superb rich ripe black cherry fragrance with a kiss of smoky oak, the palate remarkably full and rich, smooth and fleshy with excellent texture and immediate drinking appeal, although it has the legs to age well too. Serious structure, but also succulent, sweet and plush - almost too much of a good thing. Outstanding pinot noir. Drink 2025-2038.
97 Points - Huon Hooke, The Real Review
2024 William Downie Camp Hill Pinot Noir
Fragrant, dark-fruit aromas of blackberries, cherries and licorice with earth and graphite. The palate is finely tuned with a medium-bodied mouthfeel, supple tannins and a bright acidity that leads into a mouthwatering, energetic palate. Seamless structure. The impressive level of sophistication here would hold up in any old-world lineup. Excellent. Drink or hold.
97 points - James Suckling, JamesSuckling.com
2024 Yabby Lake Single Vineyard Pinot Noir
Trophy for Best Pinot Noir - Royal Sydney Wine Show 2025
Gold Medal & 95 Points - Royal Sydney Wine Show 2025
95 Points - The Real Review
95 Points - James Halliday
Brilliantly bright fresh purple-red colour is medium depth, the aromas vegetal and plummy, a hint of green olive, a suggestion of whole-berry fermentation. The wine is quite firm to finish giving it serious structure that bodes well for its future. Excellent concentration of dark cherry flavour and medium-full body. A wine of depth, structure and potential. Date: Aug 2025; Alcohol: 13.5%; Price: $75.00; Drink: 2027-2039.
95 Points - Huon Hooke, The Real Review