My horoscope this week warned me to work from home on Monday morning, and thank the wine gods I rarely do what anyone tells me to do because this particularly Monday morning, chance and circumstance led me to sit in on a very special and intimate tasting of 12 Pinot Noirs from Mornington Peninsula.
At this point you’re probably wondering, “Pinots from where?” And rightfully so, because this region is tucked away, south-east of Melbourne, Australia, and these wines are not available to the Canadian market (hence the "tease" nature of this article!).
What I discovered was an astounding quality of incredibly modest yet skillfully crafted Pinot Noirs from a region that even Vancouver’s most esteemed wine gurus knew little about. Clean, fruit forward and flawlessly balanced, our group was left invigorated after each wine, with a voracious curiosity to keep tasting more.
What a stirring reminder of the evolving culture of wine, and I hope Canada jumps on this inevitable trend. My favourite three are listed below but, to taste them yourself, you’ll have to bug your importers, ask your restaurateurs or keep your eyes peeled for someone’s secret stash of these Mornington Peninsula gems! —Laura Starr
> 2015 Merricks Estate Pinot Noir . Candied cherries with an almost medicinal herbaceousness, akin to what one taster described as Vicks cherry lozenges—but in the most delicious of ways.
> 2015 Ten Minutes by Tractor McCutcheon Pinot Noir. Bright red fruit and summer flower petals on the nose, with a clean fruit-forward palate. This wine is pretty and delicate, with a long, silky finish.
> 2015 Kooyong Meres Pinot Noir . Blackberry and oak on the nose, with a savoury chewiness that balances the fruit. Still delicate, but with a desire to age.
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