Mount Monument Macedon Ranges 2011 Pinot Noir

Another reason how the experts got it wrong. The Mount Monument Macedon Ranges 2011 Pinot Noir is a belter. Yes, as I have said before, 2011 was a very tough year for growers, but it all comes down to vineyard management and how you protect your fruit. I do not know who is in charge at the Mount Monument gaff but they deserve a big pat on the back. And a beer. And a medal. And the week off for that matter.

A great colour in the glass, the wine throws up a great mix of spice, funk and supple tart red fruit. In the palate the wine is swimming with depth of flavour; toasted spice, burnt toffee, tart raspberry and cranberry and perfectly balanced oak.

Again, a super wine from a real tough vintage. Good onya Mount Monument.

Drink with jerk chicken and beetroot salad - a Susan
Drink till 2016
97
Diam cork 13.5%v/v $32 Seddon Wine Store

Memories Part I; Vue de monde Pinot Noir by Bindi 2007

 

Sitting around the chefs table many years ago at Vue de monde the idea of a serious house wine was realised. Bindi from Macedon was going to be the Pinot Noir. This is it's story, or one of its stories - cue Law & Order 'dung dung' tune.

Quite simple - its 2013, yet the wine is still singing. Spice and tart fruit still hold sway with cinnamon and cranberry evident. A smack of toffee is the primary palate with the mid palate all about spice and prickly acid. A cracking wine, but sad to say, all gone. Special one that Dennis!!!

Kids in the vineyard

Another season is pretty much wrapped up at Bindi. All wine is safely in barrels slowly ticking away and all that is left is leaf-fall. Time for the kids to have a run up in Block K then ...

The Met Macedon Ranges Shiraz 2008

It’s hot. It’s hot. It’s really hot. Hot. Hot. Hot. Hottest hot spell on record says the record books.

So to make everyone feel that little bit more hot, I introduce to you The Met Macedon Ranges Shiraz 2008. This wine is hot, and its cool climate hot to boot.. Not hot, ‘geez that’s big and juicy and hot’, but hot, ’geez, how cool is this hot wine?’ And yes, a Macedon Ranges Shiraz; who’d have thunk it!!!

Deep colour in the glass, the wine throws up a great whack of blackberries and black olive tapenade on the nose with more of the same on the primary palate with the mid palate washing everything up nicely with grainy minerality and tart acid. A seriously hot wine!!!

Drink with med-rare steak sanga with a chilli chutney

Drink till 2017

96

Wax seal and diam cork 13.6% v/v $29 Seddon Wine Store

Vintage 2013 Bindi diary; Day 4

The nets are all out!! Thank beejeesus is all I can say; it's all everyone can say really. The nets are out.

Day 2 was pretty much like day 1 except for the nest of course. What was really different was the lack of power, and when I say power I don't mean we were acting like wuss bags but the winery actually lost power - electricity power. Stuff pretty much stopped after then. Thanks anonymous power company that's starts with A, and finishes near  K & M.

Anywhoo, the power enabled us to get back out to the vineyard and put the final nets out; rows 58-70 in block 4 to be precise. So like I said, The nets are all out!! Thank beejeesus.

And it was out there putting nets out that I realised how far there is to go before we kick off vintage for the estate fruit. Just look at this Block K Pinot Noir fruit.

So the nets are out, we got that. But before all of that we had some pump overs that got stalled. Only in power not the other. The thing is though not all of them got started, only about 6 of them. The rest are still juicing it out - check these pics out!! Oh and note, the one that looks like a shiraz spa bath was just pumped over. And yes, I did want to jump in - like it was a spa. How awesome would that be, and just a little bit sticky; still just a lot of sugar and all.

And in between all of this Wendy and Michael put on another smashing lunch. But no 1er Cru today, just some delicious 2012 Pyrette barrel samples. Stay tuned, like Meeka is.

Vintage 2013 Bindi diary; Day 3

Day 3, but technically day 1 for me thanks to heat and a dumbarse motorbike rider. Anyway, I'm here and we're off and running for vintage 2013.

Quick re-cap; the Shiraz fruit arrived at the winery from Heathcote at about 6.30pm Saturday - about 14 tonne - where 15 wine bins with partial whole bunch were filled by about midnight. Sunday was all about keeping the pots covered and cool; do not want ferment to kick off just yet.

So here we are at Monday. A mini heat wave is what we are going through right now. Today was the seventh straight +30 degree day so keeping the winery cool, so that means crank up the air-con. But wait!! Before you cry out, 'wont someone please think of the planet', stop. Bindi is powered by solar panels and also has a wind turbine; both put power back into the grid. Oh it was so cool in the winery today.

Today was also the day I met the new family member up at Bindi - Meeka. I'm not good on dog breeds so I'm just going to take a stab and say she's an 8 week old kelpy-something-cross. One word - wooshie-wooshie-wooshie-woo (just be grateful I didn't spell the hyphen's!).

As I entered the winery this morning I was instantly hit with a massive whack of mulberry fruit and brown bread. Mulberry fruit is pretty obvious, but the brown bread was all due to the wild yeast; a wild yeast that hasn't kick off yet, but just introducing itself I guess. But brown bread, and it smelt awesome.

Now pump-overs are exactly what it sounds like. And its gotta be done. The cap hadn't risen so we had no ferment kickoff. That's exactly what we wanted. And that's it. One more pump over at 4.30, some fixing up of nets and that was the day. That and a swim in the pool and a steak lunch with a bottle of 2010 Chambolle-Musigny 1er Cr. Civilised wouldn't you say.

Top of the tree in 2012

No, the world did not end. The Mayans sort of got it wrong with December 21st 2012 being cupitski for all of us mortals. Word is the Mayan's also predicted Beta VCR's would be the greatest invention since poncho's, the Spice Girls to collectively cure cancer and Corey Worthington to win a Noble Peace prize. Stick to human sacrifice next time Mayan's!!

What 2012 did bring to me was some pretty schmick wine positioned neatly in my glass. Last year saw just 6 wines for my top list. This year there are 10; 1 sparkling, 3 whites and 6 reds. Last year saw 5 whites and 1 red.  More awesomeness in 2012 than 2011 I guess.

So without delay and in no particular order, here is the pick of the the 2012 tasting crop.

Viñero Macedon Ranges Pinot Noir 2010 - a new label from super-sommeliers Matt Brook and Liam O'Brien, the 2010 hit all the right notes from a cracking vintage; very cool climate and not too far off soft and sexy Chambolle-Musigny.

Between 5 Bells Geelong Red Wine 2010 - a whacky blend that just so beautifully worked; who'd have thunk that we could find a use for Zinfandel? No offense California (sic).

Albert Mann Alsace Pinot Blanc Auxerrois 2011 - continuing on my love affair with Pinot Blanc, the recent winery of the year according to Wine Spectator (I think) delivers a magestic little quaffer that delivers so much more that the price suggests. Just beautiful.

Bindi Macedon Ranges Cuvée V Chardonnay/Pinot Noir -  I told you that this was going to be here. Bias or no bias, this wine just rocks.

Reichsrat Von Bulh Pfalz Riesling 2011 - I love Riesling, but what I loved about this beauty is its very unlike Rieslingness that just grabs you by the scruff of the neck and screams,' JUST DRINK ME!!!!!!!'

Fletcher Adelaide Hills Nebbiolo 2010 - my wine notes for this one were quite simple, 'Awesome. Breathtaking. Oursum. Captivating. Orsum. Sexxy.' You get that?

Best's Great Western Dolcetto 2010 - definitely bringing sexy back to Western Victoria, and definitely giving new world Dolcetto a voice.

By Farr Geelong Sangreal 2009 - Erin and I enjoyed this on Bastille Day last year in Perth. Enjoyed quite the understatement. Such brute power with such gentle force. Gary Farr knows his shit.

Sébastien Brunet Vouvray Arpent Sec 2010 - like my love for Pinot Blanc, my love affair with Vouvray also knew no bounds. I will make it a task this month to get this down at Seddon Wine Store, perhaps by the glass.

BK Wines Adelaide Hills Cult Syrah 2011 - just goes to prove that when you have a crap vintage, doesnt mean you have to make crap wine.

There you go, the top ten for 2012. And for the record, the By Farr Sangreal and BK Wines Syrah were the definate standouts. Cannot wait to see what 2013 has install.

The remains of 2012 - Bindi Macedon Ranges Cuvée V Chardonnay/Pinot Noir

I reckon later on today I will post my top picks for last year, even though it is this year today, the year after last that finished yesterday. You get that?

The Bindi Macedon Ranges Cuvée V Chardonnay/Pinot Noir, disgorged 2011, is just pure sexual liquid goodness. I know I bang on about Bindi wines pretty much all the time, but in all honesty, there is not really a wine where you would tie up like a piñata and go to it with a stick is there? So, the wine.

Still holding a straw/yellow colour in the glass with a supwer fine bead, the nose has an instant whack of gingerbread - very festive don't you think? The palate pleases as much as the nose with generous brioche and more gingerbread in there all neatly held together by subtle grapefruit acid.

I have still got about 3 bottles of this in my cellar and am convinced that this wine will still be singing when my boy Henry will be graduating from uni, give or take 20-25 years I reckon. I reckon well.

Drink with tuna sashimi
Drink till 2030
98
Diam cork 12%v/v $$$

Bindi Macedon Ranges 1992 Chardonnay

It has come and gone just like that. Christmas 2012 is but a recent memory, and for some of us, a loosening of the belt. Like with most Xmas days I try and pull something schmick out of the cellar; didn't have to think too hard this year. The Bindi Macedon Ranges 1992 Chardonnay. It may not have a label, but when it is given to me by Michael Dhillon I just take his word for it.

The colour was turning orange with hints of straw yellow in the hue. The nose was a bomb of creme brulee, almonds and dried figs. The palate was just amazing with acid still prominent. There are not too many Australian Chardonnays that have the chutzpah to hang in there. Twenty years people, and a first vintage to boot!

Drink till 2015
Drink with my salmon gravlax - a Susan if ever there was one
99
Natural cork 12%v/v

Viñero Macedon Ranges Pinot Noir 2010

This trade - the wine biz - is a funny beast. Out there in wine sniff land there is an abundant lot that crow about this Grand Cru and snort on how Montlouis is far superior to Vouvray in drier years; thats what they read or heard second hand anyway. The wine expert, yes indeed, a curious fellow of both genders.

With that said, it is rare to see two interested and curious fellows come along and take a genuine stab in the wine game on a primary level and go out and hang their hat on a patch of fruit in the woolly Macedon Ranges; pick it, crush it, blend it, bottle it, market it, sell it and finally chase over-due invoices. The fruits of their labour is the Viñero Macedon Ranges Pinot Noir 2010. A wine by two sommeliers; Matt Brooke and Liam O'Brien.

A dirty red in the glass with a faint translucency, the wine throws a great mix of spice a green sappiness on the nose - partial whole bunch I suppose. The palate is what I would call effeminate and long; supple musk stick/red skin on the front palate with more brown spices woven in with tort acid and super-fine tannins.

This is a wine though that if you do not have any now, you probably wont be getting any. I was fortunate enough to grab a few before they all went down the road at Albert Street.

Drink with grilled spatchcock of quail
Drink till 2017
95
Screwcap 13.5%v/v

Bindi Bottling 2012 - Quartz, Original Vineyard and Block 5

It's the day after bottling and the body is a bit sore and the house is quiet. And the rain keeps coming down. It's also cold! Hemingway I aint?

It should have been a quick day, but things don't always go to plan. What did go to plan however was the quality of the wine. The Bindi Quartz Chardonnay, Original Vineyard and Block 5 Pinot Noir's were all sitting in tank, all looking schmick as, but the mobile bottling truck got bogged at the top of block 4. It's a big truck, and big trucks do not get un-bogged easily.

It was also a slow start down here in Brunswick. All things being equal, I should have been in the winery at 7.30am, which is a 6.50am departure from home. Finishing work at midnight after a 15 hour day means that when the alarm goes off, a flurry a lewd expletives follows, the alarm gets tossed and sleep returns. So waking up at 8.45am, more expletives, a cold shower thanks to gas works and I'm off up the Calder. I pull up to the winery and the Quartz has all been bottled and some usuals, some newbie's, are milling around the winery enjoying cake and morning tea. I am greeted with a glass of Quartz Chardonnay, with Michael nodding, 'What do you think?'. Well, what do I think? I think this is a stunningly linear and focused wine that, the stuff I'm sipping anyway, didn't make it to bottle. Just imagine what it's going to be like in the bottle over the coming years - bit like a 1st year player winning the Brownlow.

It was the Original Vineyards turn next with the gremlins of earlier coming back. After a splutter the bottling line got rolling along nicely and the next thing you know there are 4 palates packed away and lunch is waiting in the winery. The Block 5 Pinot was next and like the Original Vineyard, some gremlins hindered the start but as soon as we knew it we had 2½ palates or so and things were motoring.

The last wine is one that Michael will be experimenting with over the next few years. When I say experimenting I mean that he is taking a sample of juice from the bottom and top of Block K, the highest altitude block on the vineyard, and holding it back for at least 3 years to then release to the thirsty public.

So another bottling done, my 14th, and like all bottling we pulled up seats in the winery and savoured some of Bindi's best wines. This year, like I said earlier, there were quite a few newbie's and they were duly treated to a recently disgorged Blanc de Blanc 1994 out of magnum. What a stunning wine with a beautifully tight bead and golden colour. this was followed with a 2007 Composition Pinot Noir which was pretty much drinking at its peak, a 2008 Block 5 Pinot Noir which is still quite young and not giving away too much and a specially made 2005 Vue de monde Pinot Noir that had all the hallmarks of an aged Bindi Pinot Noir - clean acidity with savoury earthy notes standing over a sun-setting tone of bright red fruit. So, another bottling done, with the end of February already booked in for the 2012 Composition's and Pyrette Shiraz. I will be heading up to Bindi before then for other bits-and-bobs, but it's always a little bit more gratifying coming home down the Calder with a booty of freshly bottled gems.

Bindi Macedon Ranges Composition Pinot Noir 2011

I will be heading up the Calder Freeway again this Saturday to join the bottling line for the Bindi Original Vineyard, Quartz and Block 5 wines - 16th bottling and counting - so I thought I would revisit the February bottling of the Bindi Macedon Ranges Composition Pinot Noir 2011.

A lot more restrained and feminate that its 2010 sibling, this wine at such a young age starts singing as soon as I decant and pour. Delicate floral notes of violet with a lick of spice on the nose, the wine in the glass just keeps going and going with with soft tart red fruit, cranberry the standout, washing over the taste buds.

This is one of the first Composition Pinot Noirs that I would  had that in a blind tasting would pass as Burgundy, and not just village or VDP, but Premier Cru also.

Drink with slow roasted cumin crusted lamb
Drink till 2025
98
Diam cork 13.5%v/v $54 at Albert Street Food & Wine next week!

Mitchell Harris Macedon Ranges/Pyrenees Sabre Chardonnay/Pinot Noir 2008

To say that the Mitchell Harris star is on the rise is quite frankly beyond obvious! The Mitchell Harris Macedon Ranges/Pyrenees Sabre Chardonnay/Pinot Noir 2008 is a spankingly good wine that just kept giving. The colour certainly belies its three years on lees with a lovely off gold/bronze tinge and constant fine bead. The nose dance’s between brioche and tort grapefruit and then really comes alive in the palate with a combination of subtle red fruit followed by a great finish of gingerbread. With a pedigree from Chandon, Jonno Harris producers a wine that ticks all the right boxes with the first sparkling release under the Mitchell Harris label. And like the piggy, I just want more - cracking job mate!!

Drink with salmon gravlax
Drink till 2016
97
Diam cork 12.5%v/v www.mitchellharris.com.au

Top Six in 2011

It’s that time of the year again when we make resolutions and spend money on gym memberships that rarely get used. 2011 came and tomorrow its 2012’s time to shine. But 2011 year has been pretty huge for me, starting off still working in champagne and as agent for eight Australian and New Zealand producers to be now heavily involved in one of Melbourne’s newest, and biggest I think, restaurant – Albert Street Food & Wine. Yes, it has been positively Heaps Bunta (South Australian Oxford Dictionary meaning HUGE!).

This year has also been a great year for new and not so new wine, which I have come across. Even though there has only been just shy of 90 posts this calendar year, it’s been a year when so much has been awesome, and so little being crap; that a good thing! So here are my Top 6 (5 just couldn’t justify) wines of the year in no particular order. You will notice that there is a leaning towards whites. This is by no means a ‘White Power’ salute to white supremacy, just worked out that way I guess.

Mitchell Harris Pyrenees Fumé Sauvignon Blanc 2011 – a recent post on Cooked and Bottled, and a truly great wine. What I loved about this wine is the wonderful nose of dried white herbs of coriander, fennel seed and white pepper. Just love it.


A.Rodda Beechworth Chardonnay 2010 – the first wine produced by Adrian Rodda under his own label. I met and worked with Adrian in 2008 doing vintage at Oakridge in the Yarra Valley and hit off pretty quick with a shared passion for The World Game; I think he still follows Melbourne Victory, me Melbourne Heart. Anyhoo, I smashing debut up in Beechworth.


Bindi Macedon Ranges Original Vineyard Pinot Noir 2006 – What more can I say about Bindi that i haven’t already. This is Australia’s answer to Burgundy. That’s all I’ve got!


Vinteloper Clare Valley Watervale Riesling 2011 – made by possibly the tallest wine maker in Australia, David Bowley producers a beautiful wine loaded with never ending flint and river stone minerality without the predictable lime acid that is known from this part of SA.


Marcel Deiss Alsace Pinot D’Alsace 2010 – a blend of Pinot Gris, Blanc and Auxerre, this wine has beautiful floral notes on the nose and a seductive fullness in the palate that just makes me want more, more and more....


EKK Weissburgunder Südtiroler Pinot Bianco Alto Adige 2010 – a real wine out of left field when I first came across it. Rich and viscous with orange blossom and a tickle of honey, this wine has a real residual feel to it, but this is more from lees stirring that left over sugar. But eat it with rich fatty pork like i did last night. Delicious!!!!


There you have it. If there was a real favourite I think it would be the Mitchell Harris Sauvignon just because it made me fall in love with this much maligned variety all over again. So leave your preconceptions behind and do yourself a flavour favour and get some.

Bindi Macedon Ranges Quartz Chardonnay 2004

Only in bottle size people! The Bindi Macedon Ranges Quartz Chardonnay 2004 in magnum is, actually was, superb! To quote Bleek Gilliam – aka Denzel Washington – from “Mo Better Blues”

“….. I’ll even give up my full season tickets to the New York Knicks… Courtside!
And you know how I feel about basketball, that’s gotta be L-O-V-E!”

Yes, Love. Bleek loves basketball, Romeo loves Juliet, A flower loves the rain and I love Bindi; the Quartz for this particular post. It was just perfect. Oyster shell, clean acid, licorice powder, lively minerality; just perfect. L-O-V-E!

Drink with a loved one
Drink with abandon
100/100
Diam cork 14%v/v

Bindi Bottling June 2011 - 2010 Original Vineyard, Block 5 and Quartz Chardonnay

I’ve learnt two things in the past couple of months, one is “don’t let the truth get in the way of a good story” and “its not what you know, its who you know”. I think that’s about all I will say about that.

One thing that is for sure is that Bindi from the Macedon Ranges is mighty fine wine; but you already know that! Just before I took off to Vietnam with the family I headed up the Calder to help bottle the Bindi 2010 Original Vineyard and Block 5 Pinot Noirs and the Quartz Chardonnay. For the 11th time now I have taken the journey up the road and got stuck into some good old fashioned manual labour with 10 or so other Bindi knockabouts and just plain and simply had a great day.

By 7.30am about six of us were milling around the winery ready for the day ahead, and what better way to start then a crisp glass of the Quartz 2010 out of tank. It certainly was a heart starter, and what a way to start the heart; bright, clean, linear and driven by the wonderful mineral soil structure it is grown in. Bill Dhillon was pretty spot-on when he suggested this was the best chardonnay to come out of Bindi.

Just before 10am we were done and dusted with the chardonnay, and now it was the Pinot with the Original Vineyard stepping up to the plate. And with that it was time to taste. Brimming with tart red fruit, the OV 2010 straight out of tank is for me the best since the 06, and that’s big considering the 08 was and is very schmick. The Block 5 was next and quite simply, Amazing!!! Considering this wine was straight out of tank, you could easily say that it was a wine that had spent at least 9 months in the bottle; red and dark fruit, toffee and soft and sexy tannins. A master piece!

One thing that was different this year was bottling all three wines under three different closures; natural cork, Diam and Screwcap. This is so Michael can look at the development of the wines over time and effectively see how much TCA the wines under natural cork will show. I reckon this should be done a bit more by other producers so we can put to bed the ‘natural cork’ sycophants and enjoy all wine, not the 90% of wine that isn’t corked!

Like all bottling days we finished with another beaut lunch from Michaels wife, Wendy. This time it was her Beef Bourgogne; that’s all I’ve got, it was just super. And with this there was more Bindi wine with Michael opening up some back vintage Composition Chardonnay and Pinot Noir and the 2010 Pyrette. Not a bad way to spend a Saturday I’d say!

So there you have it. No truth was harmed in the telling of this story and yes, it is good to know people like Michael Dhillon!

Mothers Day 2011

Mothers Day 2011. The pancakes have been eaten, the tea has been drunk and the hand-made Mothers Day cards have been read – quite impressive I must say from child #1. So with some semblance being restored in down-town Brunswick we come to the important question that has yet to be answered; what champagne/sparkling to open today.

Now I am going to be controversial here and generalise sparkling wine as the drink du jour for Mothers Day. Generally speaking I would suggest that Shiraz, or Crown Lager – depends I guess, as the chosen tipple for Father’s Day, so sparkling to me is a no-brainer for today (you can drink Marlborough Savvy B any day of the week so let’s just not go there today OK!).

In being diplomatic and all, I have chosen one champagne and one Australian sparkling wine. Firstly champagne: the Heidsieck & Co Monopole NV Blue Top. Hailing from Eperenay, this wine is an assemblage of 70% pinot noir, 20% chardonnay and 20% pinot meunier, this champagne takes a different path than the clean and linear chardonnay dominant wines. Sitting in the glass, the colour is ever so slightly soft salmon pink. The aroma strays between subtle pink grapefruit with the slightest hint of cranberry – I reckon anyway. In the palate this wine becomes a bit larger or heavier in the mouth, but not sweeter; 9g/L residual sugar still puts it in the Brut category by some margin. The fullness or richness for me stems from the abundance of red fruit which impasses a greater impression of red fruit, but subtle all the same.

The second wine is the Bindi Macedon Ranges Chardonnay Pinot Noir Extended Lees Aged 2003 sparkling wine. Yes I can almost hear the exasperated sighs, ‘of you are such a Bindi slut Tim’. Well yes, I am, we know this so get over it ok! This wine is quite simply one of the best Australian sparkling wines you will see. Big call I know, and possibly slightly impartial, but by golly this wine is fantastic. A wonderful mix of brioche, preserved lemon and cashews with pitch-perfect acid, this wine is great now but definitely worth a look at over the next 10 years I’d say.

There you have it. Two wines worthy of any Mothers Day breakfast or lunch. Happy Mother’s Day ladies.

Heidsieck & Co Monopole NV
Drink with blueberry pancakes
Drink now
92
Cork 12%v/v $54 Vintage Cellars Richmond

Bindi Macedon Ranges Chardonnay Pinot Noir Extended Lees Aged 2003
Drink with seared scallops and marron
Drink till 2013
95
Diam cork 12%v/v $46 Rathdowne Cellars in Carlton and Steve’s Fine Wine and Foods in Nedlands

Bindi obsession?

Yes. I. Love. Bindi wines. Just cannot help myself. And this was no let down either. The Bindi Chardonnay Pinot Noir Extended Lees Aged sparkling 2003. That's all I got really; simply superb!

Drink with butter fried marron
Drink till 2020
97
Diam cork under cage 12%v/v www.bindiwines.com.au

Splitting the difference - Bindi Block 5 2005 and 2006

Over the past few weeks, Cameron (my boss) and I have been trying to put together a ‘Block 5’ lunch somewhere in town to celebrate the release of Yabby Lake’s new Block 5 Pinot Noir. You see Cameron’s dad Keith Harris is the vineyard manager down at Yabby Lake, and together with Bindi and Felton Road we thought we could scrounge up some wine and have a Block 5-off; just for fun of course, no medals or trophies, just the undivided love of all those who attend.

I couldn’t wait though. The Bindi was there, but Yabby Lake and Felton Road were missing. So to keep up with the idea of seeing which was best I needed two bottles; 2005 and 2006 (still have 3 of each left thank God). So here are the findings:

Bindi Block 5 2005 – an instant hit of minerality, spice and a mixture of raspberry and blackberries and earth in the glass that make a path through my olfactory and palate; such a magic wine with notes from the Michael about the vintage being rather cool all the way with a whack of heat just before the fruit came off. This is probably the fourth or fifth 05 I have had, with each one being better than the last. Simply stunning 100/100

Bindi Block 5 2006 – darker in the glass with heavier layers of dark fruit than the 2005. Prickly acid, firm chewy tannins combined with spicy plums and raspberries with the tartness of cranberry holding it all together. A little warmer than the previous vintage which shows with a little more ripeness. Still a great wine though! 98/100

So there you have it. A somewhat expensive task, but geez, the Bindi Block 5 Pinot Noir’s have easily got to be Australia’s finest – no argument!

Bindi bottling 2010 - Composition 2009 and Pyrette 2009

Last Saturday I was once again up in Gisborne for a bottling of Bindi; the Composition 2009 Pinot Noir and Chardonnay and the Pyrette Heathcote Shiraz 2009.

Once again it was a great day, this time thought there was pretty much a cast of thousands. Once again Gary and Jules were there; neighbours of Michael's. There was Cameron from Randalls of Albert Park, who is a regular up there and also Jason, a Mercedes car salesman who has been stung by the wine bug, and his wife Christina. But it was the the other entourage that made it pretty cool.

Yes Stuart Anderson was there again as he always is, but also up at bottling was Alec Epis of Epis Wines, who was extolling his grand advice on relationships and marriage (never married mind you) to us young folk, and the quiet spoken Pat Carmody from Craiglee of Sunbury.

All in all, about 20,000 bottles were put away; a pretty good day I would suggest. Now I could give the wines a critique here, but that would be wasteful seeing that they just went in to bottle. That and we did not actually taste the wines. This time we settles down to some back vintages of Bindi, with wines like Original Vineyard 2004, 2005 and 2007, and Compostion chardonnay 2006 and 2007. Yet for me the stand out for the wines was the Craiglee 2008 chardonnay - lean, mealy and just super sexxy!

And those who want to know, the lunch put on by Wendy was again too much yum!