Bass Phillip 21

Phillip Jones, winemaker and owner of Bass Phillip, is a former management consultant. So how difficult can it be to produce world class Pinot Noir? Apparently and obviously very difficult. Many have tried to copy him in South Gippsland, but nobody has come close to achieving his results.

2006 was a difficult vintage, and Phillip Jones abandoned the typical quality pyramid of his best wines: Estate, Premium and Reserve (the famous wine with the stamp size label). It was also his 21st vintage. All these grapes (still a tiny amount) were therefore put in a wine called '21'.

The 2006 Bass Phillip 21 Pinot Noir has many qualities of a top Burgundian wine: it is a feminine wine, very harmonious. Strawberry flavours dominate, but there are earthy elements and this overall silkiness typical for Bass Phillip Pinot Noir. The wine is very smooth, perhaps lacking the fruit concentration or funkiness of better years, but the texture is excellent and it will live for a number of years to come.

I could drink this wine any day.

Score: 94/+++