Taken from our review from the Young Gun of Wine. Clickhereto read the full article.

Cabernet lovers may scoff, but Chardonnay and Pinot Noir are undoubtedly the hero varieties of the Yarra Valley. It is the latter, though, that leads the plantings, and substantially so. Sheer representation aside, the roster of high-quality wines from makers both large and small make a compelling case for the region being Australia’s prime producer of Pinot. So much so that a Deep Dive was called for.

We gathered every Yarra Valley Pinot Noir that we could find and set our expert panel the task of finding the wines that compelled the most. The aim was not necessarily to try and find the most serious and age-worthy wines, but rather wines of interest and character regardless of style – wines that compelled. All wines were tasted blind, and each panellist named their top six wines in order of preference.

Our Tasting Panel:

Dr Ray Nadeson, owner and winemaker Lethbridge Estate;

Chris Ryan DipWSET, senior buyer Trader House restaurants;

Sarah Fagan, winemaker Tarrawarra Estate;

Abbey Moret DipWSET, owner Atlas Vinifera;

Patrick Dowling, On-Premise National Sales Manager for Domaine Wine Shippers;

Yuki Hirose MS, head sommelier LUCAS Restaurants;

Travis Howe, owner and head of FOH and Beverage Carlton Wine Room

Adrian Santolin, owner/winemaker Santolin, chief winemaker at Rob Dolan Wines.

2022 Boat O’Craigo Black Spur Pinot Noir

$40 RRP

This made the top-six lists of both Hirose and Santolin. “Framboise and bright red cherry,” wrote Hirose. “Carbonic nose with menthol-like cool characters. Red roses, Turkish delight. …It’s very pretty in style. Crunchy acid keeping the wine in shape. It will be very handy wine in the restaurant, as it hits every box for what most consumer expect from Yarra pinot. As long as the price is right, this wine will be the fastest moving item on the list.” “Loads of bright fruit on the nose – fragrant red cherry, raspberry, blood plum,” wrote Santolin. “A very elegant and delicate spice-infused palate… with cherry and rhubarb pushing through followed with some super-fine tannins.”

Clickhereto purchase our 2022 Black Spur Pinot Noir.