Thousand Candles is a large new project in the Yarra Valley. It created quite a storm as a result of the amount of (Chinese) money put into the venture, the very dense planting, the lavish opening last year, and the $100 per bottle price for a new and unproven release. The talented William Downie is the winemaker. Last year's first wine was a 2011 Shiraz. It received mixed reviews at best: a strange choice to open with given the price point. I did not try this wine.
However, I had the opportunity to taste the first offering this year, the 2012 Thousand Candles Pinot Noir. The wine is not yet released. The colour is purple, not overly bright. The flavour on the front palate is black cherry, but the overall profile is of a savoury wine. The wine lacks fruit density and tastes a bit metallic. On the other hand, it has a long expanding finish.
Overall, I was disappointed. Not only does the wine not justify its price, but it would not be in my front row of $30-40 per bottle Pinots.
Score: 88/--
PS: Has anyone counted the number of candles on the label? Are there 1000?
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