Tasmanian Pinot Noir: Very Savoury

On a warm Sunday afternoon, I wended my way to a Tasmanian Pinot Noir tasting.  There were nine wines on offer and my overall impression was that they were definitely cool climate Pinot Noirs with a lot of savouriness, high acidity and limited fruit being displayed.  There was also a lot of reduction initially on the nose when most of the bottles were opened, and many of the wines had surprisingly high alcohol.

Two of the wines stood out for me – the wines that were better balanced and had more primary fruit character.

2024 Meadowbank Pinot Noir

From the Derwent Valley, this wine was redolent of bright juicy berries - in particular raspberry, fresh red cherry, red currant and kirsch – not surprising for a warm vintage.  There was an undertone of autumn leaves, mushroom and tomato stalk supporting the fruit.  For me the fruit brightness made it was almost closer to a grenache than a ‘standard’ pinot noir.  I loved drinking this wine.

Rating:  Delish     Price: AUD 70

2023 Rush Wines Pinot Noir

This wine came from the Tamar Valley – a warmer part of Tasmania – and it shows.  After the initial whiff of black shoe polish blew away, this wine really opened up.  A beautiful dark raspberry flavour came through followed by round red and black plum flavours and red currant.  A touch of rosemary enhanced the berry flavours and there was a smidgeon of marshmallow on the back palate.  This wine was well balanced, round in the mouth and very quaffable.  I considered this to be the best wine at the tasting.

Rating: Delish     Price: AUD 60

I personally prefer my Pinot Noirs to have a little less savoury character and with a little more fruit than these Tasmanian Pinot Noirs.  The majority of the other tasters, however, were definitely devotees of this style of Pinot Noir.