Aussie Wines!

Scotchman’s Hill was established in 1982 on the Bellarine Peninsula. Don’t know where that is? Have a look at the map below. This bay is known as Port Phillip Bay, with Melbourne on the northern shore. The land on the west is the Bellarine Peninsula, including Geeling, while the land on the east is known as the Mornington Peninsula (also famous for wine).

This region of the wine world is known for Pinot Noir, Pinot Gris and Chardonnay in particular, although some Shiraz is also starting to show up that is of fantastic quality too, although being a cool climate region, the accentuated pepper of these wines isn’t to everyone’s taste. However, some of them are doing really well on the show circuit.

Famous wineries in this area include Paringa Estate, By Farr, Farr Rising, Stonier, Kooyong and Port Phillip Estate, Carlei and Prancing Horse, Moorooduc, Yabby Lake, Lethbridge and Clyde Park, amongst many others. Scotchman’s Hill is also a very recognised label, making top notch wines such as the single vineyard Sutton’s Vineyard Chardonnay and Norfolk Vineyard Pinot Noir, going for about $75ish.

After the single vineyard wines, you’ll find the Cornelius wines, then the Scotchman’s Hill wines (such as this one, for about $37), then the Swan Bay label, and finally The Hill wines. They’re all quite decent and you shouldn’t hesitate to try any of them.

So, this Pinot… it certainly has some vibrancy and some great structure to it, with a lively acid and unmistakable Pinot characters of cherry, spice and perhaps a bit of lighter plum flavours… the winery even suggests beetroot, but I don’t think that’s the best selling point for a wine that you’ll ever hear. There’s a certain earthiness to it, without going over the top. Defintely a decent wine and worth drinking, although it might need another year to let the acid die down a bit to make it much more approachable. All in all, a great drop to put with a dish with a lot of flavour… listen to something lively while drinking it, it’ll certainly get your tastebuds going. 91 points.