Seven Vintages of Block 5 Pinot Noir

On Tuesday the 18th of August I enjoyed tasting and discussing seven vintages of Block 5 with Matthew Hansen's wine class at Carlton's Tre Bicchieri. The vintages ranged from just bottled 2008 to the first release, 1997.

2008 Block 5
Having been bottled ten days ago this is unfair on the wine but interesting to see where the wine is at and to see it next to 2004, a wine it shares a bit in common with. The nose is very spicy. Fresh ginger (observed in the ferment, like 2005, and not an oak flavour) with fragrant red fruits. Interestingly more dark fruits showed in barrel and they will build back as the wine settles in bottle. The palate is harmonious, fresh and zesty on the finish. It is very textural, sweet in pinot fruit and has a lovely flourish. It is reassuring to see the usual mineral tightness and drive on the mid to back palate. From a mild season experiencing well timed rainfall with a finishing burst of heat. Requires three years to really settle and evolve in bottle.

2007 Block 5
Here is a very deep, fleshy, spicy wine. There is also some earth and game complexity with a creamy, subtle choc-mint character. The palate is fresh, supple, fleshy, juicy and tightens with mineral grip on the finish. It is very harmonious. Due to the warm, dry season this wine is richer and shows more flesh that the others. This wine should be given three years to develop and will mature well for at least three more after that.

2005 Block 5
Immediately very complex, even profound. It is actually hard to pinpoint exact characters of complexity but the impression is of outstanding depth and power. Let me start with spice, earth, undergrowth, complex red and dark small berries and minerals. The palate is fresh, firm, dry and savoury, tight, mineral and long. There is a core of lovely sweet fruit and pressure on the back palate. Looking very good now but another five years will see further improvement and I suspect it will live well for another 15 years. The season was very cool but the final two weeks of ripening were very warm and built a lot of power into the fruit.

2004 Block 5
Here is a wine that looked just medium bodied after bottling and quite fragrant and perfumed without the obvious depth and power of wines like 2000 and 2005. Four years later it is absolutely hitting its straps and in this tasting showed as the Block 5 providing the most pleasure alongside the 1997. The nose is creamy and pure, delightfully fragrant with spices, red cherry and subtle strawberry notes. The palate is fresh and supple, beautifully textured and smooth with a typical mineral finish. It should hold like this for the next four or so years and continue to drink well for several years after that. From a moderate season like 2008 without the finishing burst of heat.

2002 Block 5
Perhaps our most challenging season ever? A very cold summer with rainfall at the most inappropriate times. This is quite a strong statement of pinot noir for its deep, sweet, herbal, spicy forest floor characters. The palate is round and supple then dry and grippy with a fresh, mineral end. It is quite different from the other wines. It is immediately more overtly complex but lacks the finer layers of the more regular vintages. Pleasingly the mineral back palate drive is there bit the usual striking harmony of Block 5 and flourish is less evident. It is not fading fast and should hold well for another five years.

2000 Block 5
This wine has always been a favourite. The issue is the more than usual incidence of cork taint. Which is a pity anytime but particularly for this fabulous vintage. The wine had some slight mustiness but showed sweet, herbal red and dark berry characters with complexing forest floor and spice. The palate is fleshy tight, very intense and driven with deep fruit purity. A good bottle of this is equal to any wine we have made and has a 20 year drinking window from vintage date.

1997 Block 5
The first bottling (there was one barrel from 1996 that went into the then Bindi Pinot Noir (now Original Vineyard)). The nose is hedonistic in its fragrance, ripeness and lovely complexity: herbs, flowers and sweet fruit. The palate is fresh, balanced, pure and creamy with a lovely mineral core and a long, smooth finish. At 12 years of age it is not tired and remains a beautiful wine that will continue to drink well for several more years.

The highlights for me from this tasting were the consistent mineral back palate of the wines expressing the vineyard site, the longevity of the wines in general and the ability of less powerful, structured years like 2004 to evolve to a point where there is so much more complexity, intensity and textural length. Pleasingly, despite the warm and dry years the site is clearly expressing the seasonal influences and the vineyard site.

Burgundy Trip July 2009

I have been sifting through my notes from visiting 27 makers in Burgundy during July. Here are some brief thoughts.

I tasted over 400 wines, mostly 2007. There were many, many superb wines.

The 2007 whites are brilliant for their vitality and minerality and purity. I think at the moment the lower level wines are quite delicious and racy but will benefit from several years to build more weight. There is no question that the top wines require three plus years to flesh out and build around their very intense, oh so pure spine. What really struck me when comparing 2007 to 2006 and 2005 was just how specific to site they are and how rich and ready the other vintages looked. I guess 2007 could be labelled a purists vintage for whites.

The 2007 reds are so delicious, complex, balanced and harmonious. They (generalisation here) will all drink and live well for a decade and more. There is so much to like about 2007! The level of Pinot fruit purity is sensational (to my mind think 2006 and 2002). There is a lot of fresh, fragrant red berry fruit, often quite a deal of spice and lovely creaminess in 2007. In more profound vineyards there is, as expected, often an added edge of darker, deeper fruit expression.

The 2008s look deeper, richer and more structured in both whites and reds but the malos are slow and many wines are not resolved yet. I tasted some amazingly textured and deep whites with bracing acid. There is a lot of power and texture. Some producers were thrilled by the combination or fruit depth, acid and mouthfeel. Hedonists wines in many ways. But it is early days.

The 2008 reds are often very deep and powerful though the malos were normally not done and they started with high malic so they will become a bit more tame. I felt 2007 offered more purity and fragrance where as 2008 seemed darker and denser. We really must be careful not to judge too early so what are impressions of wines in barrel or just bottled should be seen in a general sense.

What came across strongly was that the attention to detail in the vineyard and the care being applied in the winery can provide an excellent opportunity to make stunning wines even when the vintage conditions are not perfect. It seems in Burgundy that imperfect weather during the growing season can be rendered unimportant if there are well timed periods of fine, dry, sunny weather post veraison. Both 2007 and 2008 are such instances. An interesting observation was made that the expression of terroir can be heightened in difficult (but not flawed) seasons where as perfect sunny seasons can stamp the wines with vintage, not the vineyard.

A few upcoming Bindi events

The first is at Kyneton's fabulous Royal George (one Hat Age Good Food Guide 2009) featuring five local wines selected by Wine Australia as Landmark Australian wines. The Landmark event was a recent intensive presentation of Australia's greatest and most unique wines to twelve international wine professionals, including many Masters of Wine. The wines were selected, and tastings presented, by Max Allen, James Halliday, Brian Croser and many other journalists and winemakers. For more information please see www.landmark-wineaustralia.com

The second is a celebration of Bindi wine and Vue de Monde's food in their private room. We have had a long association, since Vue's earliest days in 2001 when Shannon Bennett began in Carlton. This relationship has progressed to the stage where for the past five years Bindi has grown and bottled a special Pinot Noir specifically for Vue de Monde. This lunch will be a lot of fun and will include Bindi 2003 Sparkling, Composition and Quartz Chardonnays, Bindi Vue de Monde and Block 5 Pinots and our Pyrette Heathcote Shiraz.


Landmark Wine Dinner, Royal George, Kyneton hosted by Max Allen
Date: Thursday 27th August
What: A five course dinner including Bindi Quartz and Block 5, Hanging Rock Macedon Sparkling Cuvee VIII, Cobaw Ridge Lagrein 2006 and Craiglee Shiraz 1990.
Host: Max Allen
Start time: 6.30pm for 7pm.
Cost: $135 per person
Bookings: neil@royalgeorge.com.au or phone : (03) 5422 1390

Bindi Wine lunch in Vue de Monde's private room in the Bistro
Date: Saturday 14th November
What: A four course lunch including matching Bindi wines
Start time: From 1pm
Cost: $150 per person, communal tables max 12 guests
Bookings: www.vuedemonde.com.au or phone (03) 9691 3888

Original Vineyard retrospective

In the past two weeks I have conducted tastings in Melbourne and Sydney for wine trade customers featuring Bindi Original Vineyard Pinot Noir showcasing ten vintages from 1992 to 2008. The aim of these tastings was to show the ageing capacity of the wines, how vintage variation plays a role and how vine age has given the wines increasing depth. Four bottles were used for these tastings and these notes are compiled from both tastings to give a rounded overview.

1992
Our first Pinot Noir. This wine is surprisingly delicious considering it was made from four year old vines. There were under 50 dozen made. The nose is sweet with some spice and is deliciously fragrant. The palate is still fleshy with some tannin grip and shows good balance. It is past its peak but remains a delicious wine to enjoy. At 17 years of age it is quite a revelation.

1994
Four barrels, just under 100 dozen made. This wine has always been a standout for its depth of flavour and back palate richness. The nose is spicy and earthy with excellent fruit depth and complexity. The palate is strong and powerful and the finish is intense and long. It is quite a sublime wine to enjoy now.

1997
Soon after release this wine received widespread support but closed in somewhat and became quite restrained. It has slowly opened over the years and now is deeply spicy and has delicious sweet fruit. The palate is very intense, fresh and smooth and drives long. It has always been a favourite and the best bottles are still vigorous and will hold and maybe improve.

1999
From one of our most difficult vintages (frost and an erratic summer) at ten years of age it is drinking remarkably well and is not diminished. The nose is spicy and savoury with some herbal notes. The palate juicy in fruit, fresh and long. The tannins are tight and grainy and there are delicious creamy nuances. It is fully mature now.

2000
Whilst a restrained wine in its youth the 2000 has long been a favourite for its classical intensity, balance and purity. The downside is the corks were incredibly variable and bottle variation is high. When you strike one exactly as it should be there is pretty much no better Bindi Pinot Noir. It is deep in spice, earth and red and dark small berries. The palate is very intense and tight and long and is very complex. The best bottles are still young.

2004
All wines under Diam closure from this point. From an even summer with higher yields the 2004 is enjoying a beautiful moment. The nose is spicy and creamy with earth and sweet red fruits. The palate is seamless and seductive, delicious in its smooth texture and length. It will hold this form for another five years I expect.

2005
This is one of the more profound wines for its deep, dark flavours and restraint. It will take several more years to unfold. The palate is very intense, rich and powerful and the tannin carries the sweetness for a long finish. This wine has a decade in front of it.

2006
From a warmer vintage but not forward. This wine is very fragrant and pure with delicious sweet fruit and spice complexity. The palate is very fresh, supple and harmonious and carries long on the palate. It will improve for at least five years though it is such a gorgeous drink now!

2007
From the hottest, driest year it is a revelation to see a wine of bright red and dark fruits. It is in no way sweet nor loose knit. The nose has a remarkable depth of spice/ginger. The palate is voluminous and fleshy and is carried by supple tannin that builds and drives long. For the vines to produce such pure fruit in such tough conditions was incredibly pleasing and the wines has many years of improvement.

2008 barrel sample
This is a wine that presently shows characteristics between 2006 and 2007 but ultimately seems to have links more to 2004 and 2005. That's a complex equation! It is pure and expressive of cherries and strawberries with some deeper notes of earth and spice. I expect the nose to tighten and close up a bit more still. The palate is full and fresh with beautiful balance and flourish. It will drink extremely well young but as proven by this tasting, there will be no need to rush to consume it.

One of the overriding conclusions from the tasting was that even in more difficult, less classical years, the wines age well for a decade and deliver increased complexity and harmony. It is a folly to believe that because the wines are delicious and so accessible when young that they will not age extremely well.

The Daim closure. Apart from several Diam corks from a compromised batch (a factory packing error in a single batch that is unable to again occur) in 2004 (Block 5, Quartz and Original, not Compositions) we have been very impressed with our wines maturation from 2004. The wines are very consistent and there is no taint. Perhaps the only observation is that for the first minute or so the wines may appear closed on the nose and then open up. Last July I presented 48 bottles to 900 high end tasters at a sit down event in Oregon, USA, and the wines were all consistent and absolutely fine.

Michael Dhillon

The crop has been harvested and picking finished on the 29th of March. The ferments are nearly complete as I write this and we begin pressing the Pinot Noir ferments tomorrow. The yield is below what we ideally aim for but not significantly. In the context of the myriad of trials experienced across the state during the 2009 growing season we are thrilled with the result. In 2009 the grapes developed their flavours and overall balance at lower sugar levels than in the past four years and the wines are showing a lot of intensity and drive. I believe they will be less textural as young wines than the pleasure laden 2008s but will develop very well over the medium term. It is very, very early days but it seems 2009 will yield wines of brightness and verve. The Chardonnays are displaying wonderful, vibrant, mouthwatering grapefruit and nectarine characters and the Pinots have racy red fruit and bright spice with fine, firm tannin drive (the skins were very thick and the berries small). It will be a great feeling when they are in barrel and resting over the winter.

Looking back over the summer the most immediate thought is that it was an extremely hot season due to the incredible maximum temperatures reached. However the vintage was actually twelve days later than 2008. And later than 2007 and 2006. We almost got back to picking in April! The cool December and January we mainly responsible and the even, mild weather in the second half of March saw a slow finish to the grape's flavour development.

Michael Dhillon