Monday, July 22, 2013

William Downie Pinot Noir

Just breaking the Italian reviews up a bit...

As the new William Downie Pinot Noirs have just been released, I thought it might be interesting to see how the wine matures in the bottle. I opened a 2008 William Downie Mornington Peninsula Pinot Noir, from the region which received the highest accolades for the 2012 releases.

The bouquet on opening the wine is very aromatic and fragrant. The fruit on the palate tastes of red cherry - not as big and as fruity as some Pinot Noirs from the Mornington Peninsula, and this is meant as a compliment. The wine is refined rather than intense, but it fills the mouth beautifully with its elegant and well balanced flavours. The tannins are soft and quite present leading to a long and satisfying finish.

My only concern is that as the wine opens up in the glass, at only five years of age, it becomes quite soft. I would have liked it to have a bit more bite, but this is a minor quibble about this very satisfying wine.

Score: 94/++

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