Issan Vineyard Pinot Noir

My first of 7 bottles from the 2015 vintage and the ultra close planted Issan vineyard of 5 Hectares planted 9000 vines per Hectare. Rich red fruits with bunchy earthy notes. Not quite as impressive as the 2013 vintage (see previous Delectable notes) which Philip Jones called a freak wine. Medium to full bodied. Lots of fine tannins. Have the remaining bottles every year for the next 6 years.

As per prior notes on several occasions. Rich berry fruits - glacé fruit Barb said initially. Asian spices - a beautiful nose. On the palate- berry fruits - medium plus palate Medium minus tannins. The Issan vineyard is known for its ultra high density planting (5 hectares of vines planted at 9000 vines per Hectare).

See three previous Delectable notes on the 2013 Bass Phillip Issan Vineyard. They still all apply. A very rich Pinot resulting from ultra close planting and low yields. 5 hectares of vines planted at 9000 vines per hectare. Intense on nose and palate - a Shiraz drinker’s Pinot.

Lovely perfume of strawberry and raspberry. Also a Herbal aspect amongst the masses of fruit. A rich delicious Pinot Noir with M- tannins Profound Intensity and oh so silky but persistent tannins. Rich Intense and Concentrated but not in an Otago fruit bomb way. I ordered another 3 x 2013 and 6 x 2015 Issan on the strength of this. Tried another 59 weeks later with similar notes. Downright delicious.

Deep Ruby. Both stalky, sappy and with full berry fruits. A full bodied Pinot from the very close planted Issan Vineyard ( in excess of 9,000 vines per Hectare). A different flavour profile to the equally full bodied Otago Pinots. Phillip Jones calls it a freak wine. We probably drunk it a little too soon as its best years are in front of it- yet delicious now. 15.2% Alc but not noticeable.

Have been a huge fan of Bass Phillip for many years - Australia's best Pinot Noir but this is a cuvée from the Issan Vineyard I had not tried before. Very dark colour. Herbaceous nose with hints of mint, strawberry, and cherry. Palate staining intensity, slightly grainy tannins. A delicious drink but not particularly Pinot. Who cares- every Pinot does not need to be like Burgundy. 2013 vintage.

5th and 6th bottles of the 2011 case drunk in the last week. Fruit has turned and now has overripe/raisin notes on nose but especially on palate. Still rich and complex, but it needs the freshness of youth to balance out the inherent body and ripeness of the fruit when first bottled. Drinks like a fully mature cab/shiraz. Spectacular in youth, but ages quickly.

This is a fabulous wine. Is it classic pinot? No. It is almost opaque. The nose at first has the intensity of a shiraz/cab or gsm mix. On the palate, the wine is med/full bodies, super silky, with plum, funk, chocolate, and spice. Tannins are ripe and fully integrated. I don’t know what you confuse this with other than a top shelf wine. New world, yes but unquestionably serious and superior.

Pinot - really???
This is pinot cubed. Almost black in colour, with big dark fruited jammy nose. Beautiful full bodied round fruited palate. But blue And black fruit. Soft powdery tannins holding the whole thing together. The only truely full bodied pinot I’ve ever had. Great.

Glorious (half bottle).