The West’s Value Pinot Noirs Grow in Appeal
ON THE grapevine
BY JOHN JENS
In recent years better clonal selection, better sites and better knowledge of pinot noir winemaking and oak selection have added to the variety’s quality, deliciousness and appeal.
Of those tasted recently, WA’s best value pinots would include:
2023 Pannell Family Pinot Noir. Pemberton. Young fruity gentle fine and soft. Classy and long. Fragrant and pretty. 18.4 points. $39
2023 Shepherds Hut Pinot Noir from The Porongurup Range. Big, gentle, ripe and round. Good length of lovely fruit. 18.5 points. $45
2023 Singlefile, Denmark. The Family Reserve. Classy, long and pinotesque compared to many. Lovely length with quality oak and texturing. Hints of perfume, hints of spice. 18.6 points.
2024 Shepherds Hut Pinot Noir from the Porongurup Range. Young, upfront and plush. An extra dimension on some of the ones here. A long lingering drying aftertaste. 18.6 points. Just released. $49
2023 Shepherds Hut Michael Mayo Pinot Noir. Also from the Porongurup Range. A gold medal and Trophy for Best Pinot Noir at the Wine Show of Western Australia, Mt Barker, the state’s largest annual masked taste-off of WA wines. Big, soft, gentle and fragrant. Ample and opulent. Lovely. Serious length. Pretty for quite a big wine. A class act. 18.6 points.
2023 Castle Rock Diletti Pinot Noir, the Porongurup Range. This is young, soft and velvety. It is full bodied and long, and shows more enticing pinot characters than many (of the 18) in this lineup. Brilliant oak and oak handling. Very young now, just released, and will be far better in six to 12 months. 18.7/18.8 points.
2024 Three Drops Pinot Noir. Just released. From the Patterson Vineyard in Mt Barker. Long and gentle. Plump yet restrained. Long, placid and lovely fruit of great depth. Delicious and appealing midpalate fruit and a lovely lingering finish and aftertaste. Clever oak selection and wonderful wine making. 18.7 points.
2022 Picardy Estate Pinot Noir. Pemberton. The Pannell family have made many of WA’s finest pinot noirs and the 2022 is a jump in quality over past years – which they credit to the addition of even more pinot noir clones. These wines are proven to be age-worthy and are serious. 18.7/18.8 points. The finest under this label to date.
2021 Picardy Tete de Cuvee Pinot Noir. Pemberton. Most writers state that this is WA’s finest pinot noir label. The 2020 vintage was listed as Ray Jordan’s highest pointed ever in his West Australian Business News column and website – and he followed that up by saying that this 2021 vintage was the equal of it in terms of quality and points. It lives up to that. 18.9 points. ** Edit: (2 Bottles available in store only)
The West’s finest pinot noirs are both well-made and great value. There are a few other wonderful examples out there. Try these … or stick to your favourites.