Ryan Colthorp

9.0

Light color. Lemony nose. Slight salinity. Very smooth. Super easy drinking. — a year ago

Sam Wood

9.0

Delightful co-ferment skin contact. See what happens when you don’t have VA… — 2 years ago

Al Doyle

9.0

Need to drink more SA stuff, this was really good. — 4 years ago

Bob McDonald

9.4

See previous note from July 2020. Bright Ruby red. Nose as before with Red fruits and compost heap, forest floor. The palate has those earthy savoury rhubarb flavours and is totally balanced with resolved tannins. At 7 years it is probably at its peak with the palate in harmony with the red fruits (which will fade) and the savoury earthiness. I believe this is the time to drink this even though I see a window through to 2026. Tasted my last 2014 30 weeks later on 30th April 2022. A pale Ruby red with a tawny edge. Amongst the very fragrant perfumed nose there was a sooty note which was a byproduct of whole bunch in the ferment. Also a stewed rhubarb note. An excellent Pinot and 96 points from HH. — 5 years ago

Bob McDonald

9.3

The tasting notes for this wine from 32 weeks ago pretty much cover it. Aromas of cashews, lees stirring , barrel ferment characters. These aromas dominate any fruit aromas of citrus and melon. What you might say is a “worked” Chardonnay but most enjoyable. The following night it had filled out somewhat with a peach note. — 5 years ago

Tom Alterman

9.2

White is delicious. One point less for the red — 6 years ago

Jay Miner

9.2

Peaches, Meyer lemon, golden delicious apples. Strong acidity that fades a bit after sitting. Really wonderful. — 6 years ago

Paula Strebig

9.2

Pale straw color, medium body with more legs than expected. Aroma of Sweet floral honeysuckle on the nose. Tantalizing juicy pear compote with hints of peach and a faint finish of lemon curd. Lovey sipping wine!! (Foil tented Alaska Halibut on the grill, cheese stuffed portobellos, steamed broccoli - on the lanai.) — a year ago

with Tim

romo

9.2

Hello, Cote Rotie. 8% co-ferment. Def not Norhone, but as good as it gets for WA. — 3 years ago

Johnno Harris

9.6

Awesome! Is this the best Foudre Ferment Rizza from Best’s to date? I think so. Impeccable balance and tremendous flavour intensity. — 4 years ago

Bob McDonald

9.1

Pale Ruby in colour. Strawberry and Raspberry aromatics. The palate is very red fruit driven with strawberry and raspberry - quite delicious. I may be wrong but little evidence of whole bunch in the ferment. Oak is hardly detectable. Great value at $35AUD and should be an annual buy on top of the Individual Paddock Pinot Noirs which I buy regularly. Having a 2015 Applejack Pinot tonight. — 5 years ago

Bob McDonald

9.3

Mid Ruby in colour. Red fruits of cherry and strawberry with a bit of whole bunch influence on the nose. The palate showing savoury red fruits but also a little sweetness. Certainly a good future in front of it - I should try the next one in 1 to 2 years time. Tom Carson has probably never made a bad wine in his life and he has a great terroir to work with when he is not in demand for judging at Royal Shows. Tasted another bottle 65 weeks later on 24th July 2022. Quite red cherry on the nose and palate. Sooty notes from whole bunch in the ferment. The perfect balance between sweet and savoury. — 5 years ago

Chris N

9.2

Very complex, but rather pleasing! — 6 years ago

Somm David T

Independent Sommelier/Wine Educator

9.0

Pontet Canet tasting and dinner with Alfred Tesseron.

The 13 was a brutal tannin vintage when I tasted it at En Premier. The tannins are still bitty but, nothing like they were out of barrel.

The fruit in the 13 shows the difficulty in the vintage. They are duller and it’s really stands out from other vintages and not in a good way.

It’s lean and there is nothing that really draws you in. Fruits are; dark cherries, rhubarb, blackberries, some blueberries@and the strawberries show some ripeness the other do not. Lots of dry earth, dry stones, some herbs, dark withering florals, decent acidity and a uneventful dry finish.

Photos of; Clyde and Alfred at the bar, their Amphora style cement tanks they ferment part of each vintage now, road signs of the good neighbors they keep and Chateau Pontet Canet. — 7 years ago

Bob McDonald

9.1

My last bottle in the cellar but first Delectable note for this vintage. A good balance of quality ripe grapes with the savoury peppery tannins from use of whole bunch in the ferment. — a year ago

Jamie Lauder

9.1

2020 vintage.
Syrah with 5 % Viognier, for a co-ferment. All hand harvested and sorted.
A small portion of fruit was dried for a month before undergoing fermentation.
100 % French Oak with 12% new. Aged for 20 months.
Done in a Northern Rhone style.
Violets, blueberries and game meats with white pepper and a velvety, silky finish.
— 3 years ago

B Natasha Woo Ding

9.0

Soft and juicy. Actually goes really well with seafood, especially shellfish. — 4 years ago

Bob McDonald

9.5

After the recent straight entry level Giant Steps Pinot from 2017 which was fruit driven and quite delicious this is one of their individual paddock wines - Applejack which is made in a different style with whole bunch ferment to the fore. Notes of anise and white pepper to the red fruited nose and palate. Hint of clove. Oak is resolved to my palate. Impressive and showing Steve Flamsteed’s ability as a winemaker. Postscript: Jackson Family Wines from the USA has acquired Giant Steps as of a year ago I believe. I would expect Giant Steps to be more readily available in the US now. — 5 years ago

Kevin Løk

9.0

First wine grape planted in North America? You have my attention. Fascinating history of this varietal that I highly recommend reading up on if you’re lucky to have a friend like @Brendan Devine buy you the Wine Grapes tome. The wine itself is really tasty, desert-like in your mouth and has that full almost raisiny note that a lot of natural wines have. Give it a shot. — 5 years ago

with Caroline

Bob McDonald

9.4

Very pale lemon in colour. Aromas of gooseberry, citrus blossom and barrel ferment characters - a bit toasty and nutty. Blended with a touch of Semillon and Sauvignon Gris. On the palate peachy notes - fulsome in the mouth. An excellent wine, all the better for the oak maturation. Richard Heming MW said of this wine “could be Graves or Pessac Leognan”. I really enjoyed this - from one of New Zealand’s best estates. Had my final bottle 6 weeks later on 4th October 2020 with consistent notes - delicious wine. — 6 years ago