2013 Montalto Estate and Pennon Hill Pinot Noir

More quality Pinot Noir from Simon Black and the team from Montalto. 2013 was a superb vintage for them, as displayed by the wines below.

2013 Montalto Estate Pinot Noir

Strawberry, vanilla musk nose, Luscious, silky ripe strawberry, red and black cherry fruit and mixed spice, finishes with an intense, long flavour flurry backed by clean natural acidity. Powerful and flavoursome yet with a lovely balance. Vibrant fruit, flavour, balance and length make this a very typically moreish wine.

RRP: $48

ABV: 13.6%
Rating: 93pts + (crowd pleaser)

2013 Montalto Pennon Hill Pinot Noir
Fresh, soft, vibrant and savoury red-black cherry fruit, hints of raspberry, vanilla and dried mixed herbs. Juicy red fruit at the front, framed strongly in the middle by stalky, savoury notes. Earthy and spicy, though fruit-forward, refreshing and flavoursome. Very approachable. A wine getting better each vintage.

RRP: $30

ABV: 13.7%
Rating: 93pts

Website: http://montalto.com.au/

2013 Montalto Estate SingleVineyard releases

Simon Black and the team at Montalto Estate are in the middle of an ambitious expansion process. In the last few years, Simon and the Montalto crew have released a series of single site wines to reflect the different types of terroir in their Mornington Peninsula vineyards. Following a tour of the winery and an intimate barrel tasting of earlier vintages back in 2013, it was clear that the team at Montalto were on the right track, and after a few days on the tasting bench, their new release 2013 single vineyard wines confirm this assessment.

2013 Montalto Estate Tuerong Block Pinot Noir
Some fresh red and black fruits on the nose, mixed with fruit cake spice and vanilla.

Initially shows juicy, primary red/black cherry and a bit of strawberry fruit, opening up with darker blackberry and sour cherry with some more air.

Over the course of 3 days on the tasting bench, the Tuerong became more brooding and complex, developing earthier and stalky flavours in the mid palate, and increased savouriness on the finish.

Should develop along these lines in the next 2-3 years, but is drinking well now

ABV:13.8%

RRP: $65
Rating: 93pts+ nice journey ahead

2013 Montalto Estate Merricks Block Pinot Noir
Juicy fresh red fruit, varietal; strawberry and red cherry, backed by vanilla. Fresh black cherry and plum on the palate, brooding yet light on its feet. A flavoursome Pinot Noir that has nice intensity and power, yet is well structured, with nicely balanced acidity.

ABV: 13.7% 

RRP: $65

Rating: 92pts 

2013 Montalto Estate Main Ridge Pinot Noir
Fresh and flavoursome dark cherry and blue plum, supported by a decent amount of vanilla oak on the nose. A bit of stalkyness and liqueur cherry on the mid palate. Overall, on opening a ripe, fresh and juicy Pinot, enriched by some seductive oak.

ABV: 13.7%

RRP: $65
Rating: 91pts (did not taste on subsequent days)

2013 Montalto Estate The Eleven Chardonnay
On opening (double decanted) the wine was quite lean and clean in texture, yet with a powerful smoky, toasty oak, cashew and citrus nose.

On day two the wine was in a great groove – elegantly integrated oak, cashew, grapefruit, white and yellow nectarine, enlivened by unobtrusive acidity.
The Eleven is not going to blow you away with overplayed flavour (in a good way), nor is it a chardonnay in need of a figurative big square meal. Happy medium and a win-win. Given how this evolved on opening, give it a good decant to draw the best out of it, or put it down for a few years as it is an elegant yet sumptuous chardonnay.

ABV: 12.9% 
RRP: $55
Rating: 93+ (91 on opening, though improved markedly on the tasting bench over the next few days)

Overall, a premium range of wines from a winemaker and high quality winery hitting their straps.

2013 Montalto Chardonnays - Mornington Peninsula

 
Simon Black is starting to produce some pretty smart wine at Montalto. Brown and I had the chance to visit him last year at the winery and taste through a range of barrel samples and there was plenty to like then. You also got the sense that things are on the up as Black improves the vineyards he has, and comes to understand these sites more intimately over time.

I tasted both the entry level Pennon Hill and the Estate Chardonnay over 3 days.

2013 Montalto Pennon Hill Chardonnay – This punches well above its entry level tag and registers very highly in terms of yum factor. Lovely fruit has gone into this wine. Stonefruits, cashews, creaminess, and a bit of oak spice. Generous yet restrained, it’s all underpinned by a fine acidity. Pushes through to a savoury, citrusy finish. If this was your house chardonnay over the next few years you would be very happy.

 
Rated: 92
RRP: $23
ABV: 13.5%
Closure: Screwcap
Drink: 2015-2018

 

2013 Montalto Estate Chardonnay – Just shows a bit more class than the Pennon Hill. More palate weight but also greater definition in the wine’s line and length. Generous stonefruit, grapefruit, cashews and a nice input from the oak. It also displays a bit of flintiness, adding complexity. Classy chardonnay, and worth leaving alone for a couple of years before opening.

Rated: 93+

RRP: $39
ABV: 13.2%
Closure: Screwcap
Drink: 2016-2020



Red

Montalto Estate Pinot Noir 2012

Montalto Estate is firing on several cylinders at the moment, the result of some serious investment in their estate winemaking operation and the increasing payoff of 4 years of hard work and strategic planning by winemaker Simon Black and his team.

This wine has class – a varietal nose of red fruits, mixed spice, forest floor and a hint of smoky sweet oak. Juicy dark and red cherry, red plums and mixed spice all integrate harmoniously on the front and mid-palate, with acid and tannins balanced nicely. The savoury, focussed finish is laced with a savoury sappyness and stalkyness. Pleasing length.

Impressed on day two and day three on the tasting bench, and though moreish and in the zone right now will also gain more complexity in the future. An impressive wine from an impressive pinot vintage in the Mornington.

Rating: 93 pts

RRP: $48

ABV: 13.6%

Website: http://www.montalto.com.au/

Vision realised: Avani Winery - Mornington Peninsula

Davendra and Shashi Singh are like many small-scale winemakers we have met on our travels. They have a passion for their craft and work hard to realise their vision. In their case, enough passion and daring to strike out beyond their successful restaurant businesses and take the considerable step of buying their own winery. This move occurred in 1998 when they purchased Wildcroft Estate, located south of Red Hill in the Mornington Peninsula. From 2000, Philip Jones of the Bass Phillip winery made Avani’s wines, with Shashi’s role in the winemaking process increasing from 2004 onwards.

Some reasonably young Syrah vines grafted onto older vines.
Halfway down the vineyard at the transition point from red to grey soil

As we walked with Shashi and Davendra through their winery and vineyard in early October, it was difficult not to be impressed by their enthusiasm, though also their boldness: Avani are possibly unique in the Mornington Peninsula (and if not, only one of a handful of wineries) to exclusively produce Syrah (quite rightly named given the style they aim for).

When asked about the exclusive production of Syrah, Shashi explained that following several vintages where Syrah stood out, they decided to take the advice of Phillip Jones, as well as trusting their own palates, replanting a conventional suite of Mornington grape varieties with Syrah. Shashi explained that they had initially aimed to make Pinot Noir using Bass Phillip's Pinot Noir as a (very high) benchmark. When the first few vintages turned out to be successful, though not exceptional wines (in their view), they decided to focus on the grape most assisted by the terroir. Acknowledging the time it takes, and the financial risks involved, it is still refreshing to see winemakers taking a punt to make wine based on the varieties that are empirically superior when grown on a given site, rather than persisting with a variety unsuited to the region and/or terroir.

Walking further down the sloping north facing Avani vineyard, the soil transitioned from deep red volcanic clay near the winery, to a slatey, alluvial grey lower down. Davendra and Shashi shared with us the journey they have taken developing the winery and vineyard over the last 15 years. This included the ongoing process of rehabilitating the vineyard, transforming it gradually from a conventional winemaking operation to an organic and biodynamic one, dramatically reducing the cropping levels while increasing the vine density.

Shashi and Davendra were rightly proud of the positive impact organic and biodynamic farming practices were having on the health of the soil (and as we would find out later that morning, on the wines themselves). The soil was healthy: soft underfoot with lush grass and plant life nearby.

The Avani vineyard, 3/4 down, looking toward the winery

Shashi and Davendra are now 100% in control of the whole winemaking process, with the 2012 vintage being the first made exclusively on site. A vertical tasting of the 2009, 2011 and an in-barrel taste of the 2012 confirmed that the wines being produced at Avani are on the improve as the younger vines on the vineyard mature, and as the increasingly confident winemaking is honed and perfected.

As we both left the winery on the sunny spring morning, it was clear that the story of Avani was one that should appeal to the hearts, minds and palates of drinkers keen to try small output, hand-made, honest yet exciting wines.

2012 Montalto Pennon Hill Pinot Noir (Mornington Peninsula)

 
This is Montalto’s entry level Pinot and I reckon this goes really well as a bistro wine. It has plenty of flavour but retains a lightness and appealing pinosity. Flavours of cherry, five spice and a hint of smokiness. Oak is a nice contributor. Lovely mid palate richness in a loose knit structure. Nice wine if a touch dear.

Rated:

RRP: $30
ABV: 13.0%
Closure: Screwcap
Drink: 2013-2017


Red

2012 Montalto Pennon Hill Pinot Grigio (Mornington Peninsula)

I’m really enjoying this Pinot Grigio . . . words I rarely say, but words I nevertheless found myself saying while drinking this wine. To further confound the natural order of things I found myself preferring it to Montalto’s 2012 Pennon Hill Chardonnay. At this point I asked my wife to take my temperature, but apparently nothing was amiss and this is just a really good Pinot Grigio.

Yes it tastes of pears and apples, but it’s in no way sweet or overt, and instead I kept thinking that this is a Riesling lover's Grigio. It’s great with seafood. It’s minerally and textural and has the kind of cleansing acidity I like. It finishes with good length and overall has a lovely sense of balance. Clean lines but a real quality to it. It got better over the course of a few days as well.

Rated:

RRP: $25
Closure: Screwcap
Drink: 2013-2018
Website: www.montalto.com.au


Red

2010 Montalto Pinot Noir – Mornington Peninsula

I am yet to taste a disappointing Mornington Peninsula Pinot Noir from the 2010 vintage, and the 2010 Montalto continues that run.

The perfumed nose has sweet raspberry and red cherry fruit merged with all-spice, cloves and a hint of cinnamon sugar. On the palate there are seductive and accessible mixed red fruits (particularly at the front-mid palate) and slight stalkyness throughout. Finishes with a rush of flavour that drops-off somewhat abruptly with some lingering savoury dried mixed herb flavours. Moreish.

A Pinot Noir that should please many with its delicious and approachable  (but restrained) juicy fruit flavours balanced by textbook herbal and stalky notes.

Another impressive wine from a reliable vintage.

Score: 92pts

ABV: 14.5%
RRP: $48
Website: www.montalto.com.au

2010 Montalto Estate Chardonnay (Mornington Peninsula)

Montalto send some great information with their wine, particularly on the Mornington peninsula and the vineyards that Montalto source from. This fruit for this wine comes from the Hawkins Hill, North Face, and Pennon Hill vineyards, and has resulted in a pretty impressive Chardonnay.

It doesn’t blow you away at any point, but is undoubtedly classy. Generosity and restraint are there in equal measure. There’s a nice bit of complexity with flavours of lime, nectarine, oyster shells, and some nuttiness. Oak contributes positively throughout and it finishes with some appealing bitter pith. A nicely balanced Chardonnay that would work with either seafood or white meats, but give it a few years and it will undoubtedly build weight and generosity and move firmly into roast chicken territory.

Rated:

RRP: $39
ABV: 13.5%
Closure: Screwcap
Drink: 2012-2017
Website: www.montalto.com.au


Red

Wickhams Road Mornington Peninsula Pinot Noir 2010

When you are relaxing on a lazy Saturday you can sometimes have lapses of concentration - like opening your one and only Wickhams Road Mornington Peninsula Pinot instead of one of the two Wickhams Road Gippsland Pinot Noirs you have at home. Nevermind, another order may have to be on the cards :-)

The 2010 Gippsland Pinot was reviewed (and enjoyed) by Red here, and the Mornington Peninsula version is also on the money (a bargain price of $16 at that). This is an accessible wine that is not a shameless sweet populist. Varietal juicy red fruits (including strawberry, some rasberry) are nicely balanced with a sappy element that is pleasantly bitter without straying into vegetal territory. There is minimal/no residual sweetness nor excess alcohol heat. The mouthfeel is soft and generous, though not flabby. It finishes with surprising persistence. This is still probably in its developmental stages, and I can see it settling further in the bottle and gaining more focus and zing. At the moment it is a relatively generous yet still restrained, highly enjoyable Pinot that should please many. For $16 how could it not?

Rating:

/ 90 pts



RRP: $16
ABV: 13.2%
Website: http://www.hoddlescreekestate.com.au/

2008 Willow Creek Tulum Pinot Noir (Mornington Peninsula)

The Mornington Peninsula possibly makes my favourite Oz Pinot Noir, though both the Yarra Valley and Macedon could well challenge that favouritism given what I’ve tasted of late. This wine is certainly a credit on the Mornington Peninsula side of the ledger.

There is a lovely balance between cherry and savoury flavours with this wine.

It becomes increasingly fragrant with air and has aromas of cherry, spice, some floral notes, and lovely oak. On the palate it is beautifully structured with a tight line and length of flavour. It tastes of sour cherry, dried herbs, some earthiness and hint of chocolate. There's a nice spiciness throughout as well as an attractive sea salt note. The finish is long and very dry. With a good decant this drinks well now, though i reckon it will continue to get better over the next 5 years at least. A quality Pinot.


Red


Rated:
+

RRP: $40
ABV: 14.0%
Website: www.willow-creek.com.au

Otto Ristorante, a Mornington Peninsula Chardonnay, and a Yarra Valley Syrah

I had a work lunch at Otto in Woolloomooloo, Sydney last week. Otto is a One Chef’s Hat restaurant at the beautiful location of Woolloomooloo Wharf. It’s an area and a restaurant where you can see some of the “beautiful’ people on a Friday afternoon. Given all this, I feared this might be the type of restaurant that rests a bit on its reputation and location. Happily I can say it exceeded my expectations. The food was superb, with everyone at the lunch commenting on how wonderful their respective dishes were. My highlight was an entree of twice baked pecorino and truffle soufflé with hazelnut and eschalot sauce. In fact it’s the best dish I’ve had at a restaurant all year. It sounds amazing when you read it on the menu, and it was even better to eat. Make sure you order it if you happen to go there.

Anyway, along with the food we had some pretty smart wine . . .



2008 Ocean Eight Verve Chardonnay (Mornington Peninsula, RRP: $35)

This is a tasty chardonnay. It’s in a leaner, almost Chablis style, and has great intensity and acidity. Aged all in old oak.

It has an understated, yet varietal nose, but it’s on the palate that this wine shines. With flavours of lemon and grapefruit it has great drive through the mid-palate, and has a long, somewhat nutty finish. A nice hint of spicy oak. Fruit purity and intensity, lovely texture, and great acidity. Should age very well.



2008 Jamsheed Gruyere Syrah (Yarra Valley, RRP: $40)

I’ve read a lot of great stuff about Jamsheed’s Syrahs, so when i saw it on the wine list it was an easy choice. Interestingly if RedtoBrown employed a scoring system this is the kind of wine I would give a high score to and yet would not be raving about. It’s a quality wine, and I can see why plenty of people have talked it up, but it’s in a cool-climate Syrah style that’s not always my thing.

It has a lifted, fragrant nose, with aromas of cherry pie and pepper, along with some gamey notes. On the palate there is some lovely ripe berry fruit, along with pepper, spice, and some stalkiness. Balanced with excellent length. Very good wine it its style, and if you like this type of Syrah then buy up.


Red

2007 Quealy Rageous Sangiovese Shiraz Pinot Noir (Mornington Peninsula) $30

It is not every day you come across a Sangiovese, Shiraz and Pinot Noir blend. I am familiar with the Hunter Valley Shiraz Pinot style from the bottles of Mountain X I have had in the last few years, and have consumed the odd Fox Gordon Shiraz Tempranillo, but have not seen this unique trinity in the bottle shops (at least the ones I frequent!). A few weeks ago I was in transit on my way home from a holiday, and the flight lounge I was in was stocking this wine - the adventurer inside of me felt compelled to try it.


The Rageous is 51% Sangiovese, 30% Shiraz and 9% Pinot Noir, and has a slightly cloudy deep crimson colour. On the nose there is sour cherry, thanks in part to the Sangiovese and Pinot; though a distinctive Pinot-style stalkyness is also present, along with hints of spice and subtle coconut ice.

On the front palate the Pinot is more obvious, the wine fleshing out with some herbal notes and ripe red fruit on the mid to back palate as the shiraz component kicks in, finishing juicy though not over-sweet with more cherry, dark red berries and fine tannins in support. The wine is medium bodied and could be served chilled - more of a spring-summer quaffer than a winter warmer.
Winemaker Kathleen Quealy makes wine with pizzazz. I like the marketing, the labels on the bottles and the philosophy and approach (which in the bottle and on the website suggest a slightly leftfield, 'think outside the box' philosophy, combined with mature vineyards and well honed winemaking skills). I like the fact the Rageous encapsulates this approach, and did so without me being familiar with the winery prior to tasting it (I have since done some snooping and made enquiries about where to find these in Sydney).

The combination may on paper appear to be a little Frankenstein's bride but its uniqueness and personality finds me strangely attracted.

Mornington Pinot Noir Tasting – Oak Barrel

A couple of weeks back, Brown and I went to a Mornington Peninsula Pinot Noir tasting at the Oak Barrel, a bottle shop in downtown Sydney. It was a very well organised and informative event, and most importantly the wines were superb. The tasting was organised into sub-regional flights of Red Hill, Merricks, and then Tuerong, before finishing off with some premium single vineyard wines. While most of the Pinots were distinctly from the Mornington Peninsula, they provided a great exploration of the sub-regions and the effects of different micro climates and terroir on the Pinot Noir grape. Each sub-region was discernibly different to the other, going from the lighter Red Hill wines through to the more powerful pinots of Merricks and Tuerong. Added to this, the wines within each subregion had their own unique aroma and taste. The highlights of the night were:

2008 Ten Minutes by Tractor 10x Pinot Noir - $38 - a lovely cherry bouquet with some gamey, meaty aromas. A long wine of complexity with spice and fine chewy tannins

2007 Paradigm L’ami sage Pinot Noir - $60 - a fragrant varietal nose that on the palate was tasty, savoury, tannic and chewy. Great drop.

2008 Port Phillip Estate Pinot Noir - $35 - this wine was part of our New Zealand vs Australia Pinot Noir Face-Off and showed up well again on the night - http://redtobrownwinereview.blogspot.com/2010/02/pinot-noir-face-off-2008-port-phillip.html

2008 Kooyong Massale Pinot Noir - $31 - very nice savoury nose. A beautifully balanced palate of savoury flavours, a bit of pleasant stalky bitterness, drying tannins, and good length.

2006 The Cups Estate Mornington Peninsula - $31 - this had one of the most beautiful, interesting bouquets with a hint of truffle which I loved. On the palate there was lovely fruit and really enjoyable, complex spice flavours.

2006 Stonier Windmill Vineyard Pinot Noir - $60 - the left field wine of the night, and indeed the wine of the night. It was the lightest coloured pinot of the tasting, though did not lack for any flavour whatsoever. A gentle varietal nose, with a flavour profile on the palate that really shone. It had wonderful structure and length, with intense flavours of sour cherry and spice. With the nice acidity and flavour balance, this should age beautifully . . .

The tasting was held in a casual, friendly but informative environment, and the tasting room itself is lovely and fit for purpose (enjoying fine wine). We will make every effort to be at upcoming tastings throughout the year. Thanks to Oak Barrel for a superb evening.