Sublime pinot noir from Tumbarumba, Yarra Valley, the Adelaide Hills and Martinborough

A sublime wine from the foothills of the Snowy Mountains leads our stellar line-up of this magical variety from four different regions in Australia and New Zealand.

Four wines boasting ‘pinosity’.

Winemaker Bryan Currie has been hunting for the best pinot noir and chardonnay grapes around the foothills of the Snowy Mountains near Tumbarumba for 20 years.

“It’s taken a long time to get my head around Tumbarumba wine – it’s a truly unique place,’’ Bryan told me last week, only hours before his Hungerford Hill Tumbarumba Pinot Noir 2021 was awarded the trophy for Best Young Red Wine at the Tumbarumba Wine Show.

Bryan’s sublime pinot noir leads The Australian Wine Club’s special offer on Wednesday of four lovely pinots, selected from four different regions in Australia and New Zealand.

Each wine will appeal to pinot noir fans like myself who revel in the sheer delight of pinot that tastes like pinot. “We call that pinosity,’’ Bryan says, referring to that unique combination of fragrant red fruits, wild herbs and soft seductive complexity that’s so recognisable in good pinot noir but often difficult to fully capture in words.

Bryan’s fascination with Tumbarumba pinot began in the early 2000s when he was looking for quality cool-climate fruit while working for Calabria Family Wines (then known as Westend Estate) at Griffith.

The first vines for commercial wines were planted in Tumbarumba in the early 1980s, mainly by bigger producers such as Seppelt and later Lindemans, who wanted to establish a consistent source of ultra cool-climate varieties needed for sparkling wines, being chardonnay, pinot noir and pinot meunière.

It’s those oldest pinot vines, now around 40 years old and sitting about 750 metres above sea level, that Bryan uses to create his Hungerford Hill Tumbarumba pinot noir.

“In my opinion, it’s the best pinot vineyard in the region,’’ Bryan says. “It has rows running north to south over a hill so it has good drainage and the wind can get among the grapes to help keep disease pressure down.”

Part of the challenge of growing premium grapes in Tumbarumba is coping with the cold, wet weather, which increases the chances of mildew, rot and fungal disease in vineyards.

Older vines also help in this quest as they tend to produce less canopy (leaves) as they get older, while also yielding less fruit, producing smaller but more intensely flavoured grapes.

Among the climatic virtues of Tumbarumba is a large temperature spread between warm days above 30C (good for ripening) and very cold nights down to -10C (good for natural acid retention).

Twenty years of experience has taught Bryan that the best Tumbarumba wines are produced by treating the fruit extremely gently in the winery. “If you’re not careful you end up with wines that are too tannic so I like to leave the juice sitting on the skins but without doing very much at all,’’ he says.

He also tends to ferment whole berries with just a small amount of whole bunches and very little stalky material.

While Tumbarumba growers mainly sold their fruit to wineries in the past, Bryan is seeing a new generation making wine under their own labels. “These younger growers are taking over vineyards from their parents and they don’t want to be just price takers,’’ he says. “We’re seeing more small-batch winemaking now, more experimentation, more brands – it’s brilliant for Tumbarumba and for those of us who love cool-climate wines.”

Hungerford Hill Tumbarumba Pinot Noir 2021

Abundant aromas of summer berries, herbs and soft spice introduce a silky palate flowing with red cherries, earthy, savoury notes and a hint of orange zest. Refreshing natural acidity forms the backbone, driving a depth of flavour to a lingering finish. Lovely drinking now but should cellar for 10 years. 13% alc; RRP $45 a bottle

SPECIALS $34.99 a btl in any dozen; $27.99 a btl in pinot noir dozen

Warramunda Estate Liv Zak Yarra Valley Pinot Noir 2021

From a boutique winery at Yarra Valley’s Coldstream comes this delicate pinot, light on its feet but certain of its footing. You’ll find everything in place: an inviting waft of strawberries, raspberries, and cherries leads to a juicy palate of bright red fruits carried on a racy line of acidity. Beautiful spring drinking. Crafted by young winemaker Olivia Zak-Magdziarz, who completed her first vintage as a 16-year-old at Yering Station. Warramunda follows biodynamic principles, vines are unirrigated and wines are all naturally fermented with wild yeast. 12% alc; RRP $40 a bottle

SPECIALS $32.99 a btl in any dozen; $27.99 a btl in pinot noir dozen

Loom Long Yarn Adelaide Hills Pinot Noir 2021

 

A full-flavoured pinot expression created by innovative winemaker Steve Grimley. Juicy cherry flavours pop across the palate, with wild herbs and spices singing along. Bags of freshness here. A reminder that the Adelaide Hills must always be counted among the top echelon of Australian pinot producers. A mouth-watering pleasure. 13.5% alc; RRP $40 a bottle

SPECIALS $28.99 a btl in any dozen; $27.99 a btl in pinot noir dozen

Palliser Estate The Luminary Martinborough Pinot Noir 2020

New Zealand’s Martinborough is one of the world’s special pinot places. Palliser Estate’s The Luminary leads with a rush of red and black cherries and plums, finishing with clove, nutmeg and oak-derived vanilla notes. This is a fruit-driven style but there are touches of savouriness; silky tannins and gentle acidity drive to the finish. A good introduction to the treasures of Martinborough from one of its highly respected producers. 14% alc; RRP $33 a btl

SPECIALS $27.99 a btl in any dozen; $27.99 a btl in pinot noir dozen

PINOT NOIR DOZEN Three bottles of each wine for $27.99 a btl. Save $138 a dozen.

Order online or phone [phone] Mon-Fri 8am-6pm AEST. Deals only available while stocks last. The Australian Wine Club is a commercial partnership with Laithwaites Wine.