Not all that long ago, Australian Pinot Noir was seen as being too big and too sweet or thin and vapid. Things are changing, most certainly for the better. In regions such as the Mornington Peninsula, there is considerable progress being made with Pinot Noir. The vines are getting older and, more importantly, there is a greater understanding of site and how to get the best out of the Pinot Noir grape in this windblown coastal region.
Paradigm Hill’s l’Ami Sage is puts forward a strong argument for the progress being made with Pinot Noir. Relatively pale in colour, it possesses an attractive, perfumed nose that is quite floral, underpinned by plums and cherries. The palate is savoury, silky and elegant, displaying genuine ‘Pinosity’. While it could offer more by way of structure, therefore providing more confidence as to its ageworthiness, there is real quality here.
While perhaps not the ‘finished article’, it represents an excellent work in progress reference point for Mornington Peninsula Pinot Noir. At just over $50 per bottle, it represents reasonable value for money, especially when you consider that in the Australian market, the same money will get you no more than a generic Bourgogne Rouge, albeit from a good producer.
2009 PINOT NOIR L’AMI SAGE
Producer: Paradigm Hill
Variety: Pinot Noir
Vintage: 2009
Region: Mornington Peninsula, Victoria, Australia
ABV: 13.7%
Closure: Screw cap
Format: 750ml
Retail price: $55.99
Date tasted: 20 December 2011
Tasting Note:
Just 3,100 bottles produced. Bright ruby red. Alluring, pretty and aromatic nose of cherries and plums, floral notes. Very attractive. Medium bodied, although there is good fruit intensity (again cherries and plums), the over-riding impression is savoury; no jammy or confiture characters here. The oak, 53% of which is new is very well integrated. Although not enormously complex, this is a well made, savoury Pinot Noir that illustrates how far this variety has progressed on the Mornington Peninsula.
Score: 16/20
Paradigm Hill’s l’Ami Sage is puts forward a strong argument for the progress being made with Pinot Noir. Relatively pale in colour, it possesses an attractive, perfumed nose that is quite floral, underpinned by plums and cherries. The palate is savoury, silky and elegant, displaying genuine ‘Pinosity’. While it could offer more by way of structure, therefore providing more confidence as to its ageworthiness, there is real quality here.
While perhaps not the ‘finished article’, it represents an excellent work in progress reference point for Mornington Peninsula Pinot Noir. At just over $50 per bottle, it represents reasonable value for money, especially when you consider that in the Australian market, the same money will get you no more than a generic Bourgogne Rouge, albeit from a good producer.
2009 PINOT NOIR L’AMI SAGEProducer: Paradigm Hill
Variety: Pinot Noir
Vintage: 2009
Region: Mornington Peninsula, Victoria, Australia
ABV: 13.7%
Closure: Screw cap
Format: 750ml
Retail price: $55.99
Date tasted: 20 December 2011
Tasting Note:
Just 3,100 bottles produced. Bright ruby red. Alluring, pretty and aromatic nose of cherries and plums, floral notes. Very attractive. Medium bodied, although there is good fruit intensity (again cherries and plums), the over-riding impression is savoury; no jammy or confiture characters here. The oak, 53% of which is new is very well integrated. Although not enormously complex, this is a well made, savoury Pinot Noir that illustrates how far this variety has progressed on the Mornington Peninsula.
Score: 16/20
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