Penfolds Bin 23 Adelaide Hills Pinot Noir 2011 $32–$40
What a beautiful, satisfying pinot this is, albeit a little off the Penfolds beaten path. The teasing, stalky character suggests whole-bunch fermentation – mainstream for pinot makers. But the chewy, tough-edged tannins seemed a world away from the highly polished Penfolds style. The cloudiness, too, zigged away from the normal pristine purity. An email to winemaker Peter Gago drew the immediate response, “The P/Noirs made at Magill are all cold-soaked, naturally fermented, and spend their maturation in barrique on lees … almost always bottled unfiltered, never fined. The cost of this ‘hands-off’, flavour-retentive approach is occasional turbidity”.
Copyright © Chris Shanahan 2012
First published 24 June 2012 in The Canberra Times