Wine & Spirits - October 2020 - 80

Wine&Spirits
Our Score
Definitions
W&S scores are based on
quality and distinctive regional
character, to help you find
delicious wines grown and
made with integrity.

100
Transcendent
A wine that speaks directly from
the earth, communicating the
flavors of its place with unequaled
complexity and intensity; it will
offer pleasure for decades.

96 to 99
Astonishing, Rare
A wine that saturates the senses
with flavors that feel unique
and thrilling; a rare
landmark for its region.

93 to 95
Exciting, Distinctive
A wine that transcends simple
typicity to its region or variety-a
vivid, singular expression of place.

90 to 92
Delicious, Compelling
A compelling wine of its region;
a delicious, finessed
expression of a place.

88 to 89
Delicious, Representative
Well-made, pleasurable and
true to its region or variety.

85 to 87
Balanced, Crowd Pleasing
Identifiable in style and regional
character, and qualitatively solid.

80 to 84
Useful
Simple wine that will either
quench thirst or play a
useful role at the table.

80

WINE & SPIRITS

OCTOBER 2020

90 | Joshua Cooper

PINOT NOIR
125721

93 | Bindi

$120

2017 Macedon Ranges Original Vineyard
Pinot Noir ^ Michael Dhillon makes this wine
from three acres of pinot noir planted in 1988
on a north-facing slope of quartz and volcanic soils. He ages it for 15 months in French
oak; 25 percent of the barrels are new and
100 percent of the wine is firm, juicy and
cool, its high-acid fruit showing the underside of ripeness in notes of red currants, mint
and the tart red flesh of a peach by the pit.
While this is a little steely and hard at the
moment, it's possible to taste the future in
the wine as it opens, sustaining its cool, fresh
length of flavor. § Vine Street Imports, Mount
Laurel, NJ
125732

93 | Joshua Cooper

$60

2018 Macedon Ranges Doug's Vineyard
Pinot Noir ^ This grows at the top of a hill facing north-northeast toward the morning sun.
The rocky red soils are derived from basalt,
and they restrict the yields on the vines,
which produced 1.4 tons of grapes per acre
in 2017. That concentration is immediately
apparent in the wine, its meaty power delivering complexity in scents of roses and black
tea along with a vibrant spike of cranberry
and black-currant flavor. This is broad and
rich, made with whole clusters and without
any additions other than some sulfur before
bottling. Decant it to enjoy with crispy roast
duck. § Vine Street Imports, Mount Laurel, NJ
125722

91 | Bindi

$155

2017 Macedon Ranges Block 5 Pinot Noir ^
Like a delicate beauty in big boots, this wine's
time in oak gives it scents of smoke and
leather (35 percent of the barrels were new),
youthfully outsized with oak tannins that
need air to turn more gracious. The fruit is
sweet and gentle until the end, when it takes
charge, lasting with long strides of tangy
orange and strawberry flavor. Give this several years of bottle age. § Vine Street Imports,
Mount Laurel, NJ
125720

90 | Bindi

$74

2018 Macedon Ranges Dixon Pinot Noir ^
This is a blend of fruit Michael Dhillon
declassifies from his single-parcel bottlings. It
needs a lot of air after opening to move past
the initial brown and green notes of oak and
bell pepper. But as it evolves past those complications, it gains stature and turns toward
gentle plum and strawberry flavors. Cellar
this for a year or two and it should develop
well. § Vine Street Imports, Mount Laurel, NJ
125733

$50

2018 Port Phillip Ray-Monde Vineyard
Pinot Noir ^ From a vineyard in south Gisborne planted in 1988, this pinot grows in
a mix of ironstone gravels and basaltic clay.
Joshua Cooper ferments it mostly as whole
clusters, destemming about 20 percent of the
lot and adding that to the top of the open
fermenter, then letting it spontaneously ferment. Aged in Burgundy barrels, the wine
is still marked by the oak, but behind it is
a gentle pinot, with fresh scents of crushed
green peppercorn and anise, and hard granite edges, fleshy enough to stand with carnitas. § Vine Street Imports, Mount Laurel, NJ

SHIRAZ
125747

93 | Tournon

$32

92 | Campbells

$27

92 | Jasper Hill

$85

2016 Heathcote Lady's Lane Vineyard Shiraz (Best Buy) ^ From the Chapoutier family's
project in Victoria, this wine grows at their
vineyard in Heathcote, in Cambrian soils.
It's a bold, gamey wine with earthy tannins
lasting through the spicy black-cherry-skin
flavors. And there are floral notes of fruit just
coming into ripeness. The tannins open up
with air, yielding a beautiful texture as the
earthiness gentles and persists. § Negociants
USA/Winebow Imports, NY
125749
2015 Rutherglen Bobbie Burns Shiraz
(Best Buy) ^ This meaty shiraz grows at a
48-acre estate vineyard in Rutherglen, where
it picks up dark, beefy tones of five spice
and star anise. It carries a cool savor even
as the fruit shows touches of superripeness,
the tannins yielding into supple plum and
prune notes, juicy and deep. § Negociants USA/
Winebow Imports, NY
125708
2017 Heathcote Georgia's Paddock Shiraz ^
This tight, floral shiraz from the Cambrian
soils of Heathcote had our tasting panel riffing on duck, its salty, fatty goodness reminding one taster of the prosciutto his father
made from duck breast. The wine's meatiness reminded another taster of braised
wild duck, along with dark chocolate and
cool mint tones. It's a little youthfully brash,
needing a few years of bottle age to mellow. §
Old Bridge Cellars, Napa, CA
125707
Wine & Spirits - October 2020

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Wine & Spirits - October 2020
