2001 Apsley Gorge Vineyard Pinot Noir Cuvée II - Australia, Tasmania (1/16/2006)
Haggis found this buried among his wines and opened it at a happy hour he hosted last week. The offline turned into a Pinot theme as 4 Pinots were opened. I've never had a wine from this producer before. This had quite a bit of character. High in acid in my opinion which kept the score down a bit and prevented the wine from reaching the outstanding level. Noce minerality though with black cherry notes and a lip smacking finish. Very tasty. 88-89 points.

VM

I wish it had been a Panorama that I rediscovered instead of this one! Nonetheless, this was a nice treat and I'm glad to have shared it with VM, Otis, and R2D2.

Decanted for about 1.5 hr. This was tart/acidic, as VM notes. Even after decanting, the nose was almost non-existant. It is more tannic than other Tasmanian pinots I've had. I think this could have been cellared for a few more years, as it began to open considerably after 3 hrs. By then, the nose was giving up aromas of cherry. I had an "oh wow" reaction, as I was not prepared for how open the wine had become. Very nice wine, but not great (yet?). HI=89

• 2001 Apsley Gorge Vineyard Pinot Noir Cuvée II - Australia, Tasmania (1/12/2006)
  Lovely luminescent ruby color. Tassie-typical ebullient brilliant red cherry nose. However, on the palate, it is much more serious than most Tassie pinots. Almost like the winemaker is trying to make it Burgundian regardless of whether the square peg fits into the round hole. In some respects he/she succeeds (the fruit is taut and disciplined by considerable tannin and acidity). In other respects, he/she does not (not sure I am tasting any of the terroir). I prefer the playful over-the-top cherry-ness that Tassie pinots normally deliver. But I give this high marks for effort, even if it is overly ambitious. (88 pts.)

Posted from CellarTracker

Cheers,

Otis

quote:

... it is much more serious than most Tassie pinots. Almost like the winemaker is trying to make it Burgundian regardless of whether the square peg fits into the round hole...
Cheers,

Otis

Yes, I remember you mentioning this. Interesting observation and not one that would have ever occurred to me.