Hoddles Creek - 1er Yarra Valley Pinot Noir - 2021

13.2% alcohol eh? Makes a change. Hoddles Creek Pinot is one of the few Australian Pinots I buy with some regularity, so make of that what you will. It’s so calm and seductive, and while it shows a little more creamy spicy biscuit oak than usual, or so I think, it’s nothing overt. Aside that, red cherry and red berries, spice, mint and floral top notes, with silky fine tannin, though they offer a distinct ‘mineral’ character, with a crushed stone sort of thing, and some more earthy/savoury flavours. Not at all sweet, maybe even a little bony, though the red fruit is ample. The finish is very long, a tight tannin dusting as it goes. Probably the best vintage of 1er Pinot since 2015. 96 Points Gary Walsh, Wine Front