Bass Phillip Bin 17k Pinot Noir

 It is interesting that leading wineries find it difficult to replicate the quality of their icon wines in newer brands. Henschke is a prime example. The quality of Hill of Grace, Cyril Henschke, and Mt. Edelstone has never been reached by any of its proliferation of newer wines. Bass Phillip is another example. There have been some attempts to replicate the success of the Estate Vineyard in other Gippsland vineyards near by. One such example is the Bin 17k from a vineyard only 350 meters away from the home vineyard.

Phillip Jones has always been clear he wanted to make Burgundy wines and the wines from the Estate Vineyard could be regarded as such. Very low yields and high rainfall, in Phillip Jones' view, are key. He then developed a vineyard with extreme dense planting, 17000 vines per ha (8 to 10k per ha is regarded as dense planting) - hence the name of the Bin 17k.

The 2019 Bass Phillip Bin 17k Pinot Noir comes from a warm vintage. Strawberry and red cherry flavours deliver a pleasant mouthfeel, quite straight forward. Acidity enlivens this medium intensity wine. The finish is medium as well, without the interest the Estate wines normally deliver. This is a wine of balanced fruit weight reflecting the warmer vintage, but nothing special overall.

Score: 91/+

Cooler vintages in later years meant the vines had to struggle too much. The dense planting was simply too demanding for this Gippsland vineyard. The experiment, and therefore this wine, was discontinued.