While the Balgownie Estate Cabernet & Shiraz remain the winery hits, the Pinot & Chardonnay range have come along in leaps and bounds (especially with the Macedon wines), to the point where Tony Winspear can’t keep up with the Pinot demand. This Balgownie Estate Yarra Valley Pinot Noir 2021 is still coming together but certainly promising. Lovely bright ruby colours here, a whisper of stems, then the serious palate starts with a streak of vanilla oak, the palate is a smidgen sweet and sour – red fruit, quite tangy and tannic too. The pieces are all there – oak, fruit etc., but it’s still formative. Best drinking: next year. 17.7/20, 92/100+. 13.2%, $50. Balgownie website. Would I buy it? A glass or two.
About me – Andrew Graham
At 18, I started working in a small suburban bottleshop, largely to buy cheap beer. It was my first year of university, slogging through physics and chemistry, so a liquor shop seemed like fun. But then, I fell in love with wine and craft beer, and it took over my life.
Twenty three years later and I spend my days wearing many beverage hats and judge at wine shows around the world...Read more
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