Chris Shanahan: Wine review — Port Phillip Estate, Crittenden and Pikes

Port Phillip Estate Mornington Peninsula Dry Rose 2010 $22
Winemaker Sandro Mosele produces Port Phillip Estate and Kooyong Estate wines at the stunning new Port Phillip Estate winery-cellar-door complex at Red Hill, on the Mornington Peninsula. The winery, and separate sub-regional Kooyong and Port Phillip vineyards, belong to Giorgio Gjergja and family. Both estates contributed shiraz for this lovely dry rose. The juice picks up a whisper of colour before it’s drained from the skins for a spontaneous fermentation in old French oak barrels. After fermentation the new wine rests on yeast lees for four months. The resulting pale-salmon coloured wine shows subtle berry character and a delicate, soft, fresh dry finish.

Crittenden Estate

Geppetto Pinot Noir 2010 $24
Mornington Peninsula Estate Pinot Noir 2009 $34
The Zumma Mornington Peninsula Pinot Noir 2008 $49

Rollo Crittenden took over as winemaker at the family estate in 2003. But father Garry “still hovers around like the ghost of vintages past”, writes Rollo. Geppetto, sourced from Patterson Lakes and Balnarring, provides a fruity, up-front pinot experience – delicate, soft and pure with sufficient structure to be a real red. The Estate pinot, all from the Dromana vineyard, offers more flavour intensity, introduces stalky and savoury notes and a deeper, fleshier texture. The Zumma, from a small patch of old vines at Dromana, turns on the magic with its alluring, subtle aroma and taut but very fine, elegant palate.

Pikes Luccio Clare Valley

Sangiovese 2009 $18
Pinot Grigio 2010 $18

Neil Pike says both “Luccio” wines come from vines grown on his family’s vineyards at Polish Hill River, a cool sub-region of South Australia’s Clare Valley. Pike’s sangiovese offers a lighter, fruity take on this Italian variety. The colour’s medium ruby, the aroma’s bright and fresh and its cherry-like character carries through to the palate. It’s medium bodied and bright, but not fleshy, and savoury tannins give a pleasantly tart finish. It’s a quaffer – one to enjoy with savoury food. The pinot grigio also offers a dry, pleasant tartness, with a distinctly pear-like aftertaste.