Purple Palate

The Lusatia Park site has been widely heralded as Australia's first 'grand cru' vineyard. My attention was drawn to these wines when Pinot Noir specialist William Downie called it Australia's finest vineyard for the varietal. Winemaker Steve Webber has used every trick in the book to get the best of this special fruit, fermenting bunches and even bashing stalks for a more complex, energetic extraction. The result is a wine that is delicious, complex, and just brilliantly 'alive' in every aspect. The 2008 has a silky, almost gelatin texture, with the sheer, sweet indulgence of melting candy across the tongue. Richly flavoured by a myriad multi-hued berries, all of which have a striking acidic energy and aromatic lift, this is elegant, modern Australian Pinot at its very best. It's too easy to drink but will cellar for God-knows how long.-NT.