Like all of the Pinots at Bass Phillip, the 2018 Reserve Pinot Noir is relatively light in color, unfiltered and cloudy in the glass. Delicately scented of raspberries and cherries, with hints of herbs, vanilla and earth, it's the most voluminous of the bottlings, showing more roundness and concentration in the mouth, allied to silky, berry herbal-tea textural complexities and admirable persistence on the finish.

Medium-deep ruby purple in color, the 2009 Reserve Pinot Noir is a bit closed giving a moderately pronounced nose of black cherries and warm cranberries plus nuances of tree bark, Indian spices, fertile loam, damp leaves and a delicate floral lift. Medium bodied, crisp and taut, it has medium-firm silky tannins, great concentration and a very long finish. Drink it 2013 to 2021+. One of the pioneers of high quality Pinot Noir production in Victoria, Phillip Jones is still leader of the Pinot pack in Australia. But the former research engineer didn't start out wanting to produce Pinot. "Originally I planted Bordeaux varieties because I wanted to make Ducru Beaucaillou in Australia," he laughed. "But I also planted a bit of Pinot." The Pinot Noir he planted in 1979 in Leongatha, Gippsland - a cooler, coastal region 150 kilometers southeast of Melbourne that is still known mainly for dairy and potato farming - turned out to be fantastic. Quite wisely, he ripped all the Cabernet Sauvignon out, planting Pinot Noir and some Chardonnay instead. Today, though about 4% of the property is planted to Chardonnay and there are tiny patches of Gamay, Gewurztraminer and Nebbiolo, the iconic estate known as Bass Phillip is still planted mainly to Pinot Noir (95%) consisting of 8 clones on 5 soil types. Over time, three distinctive sites were isolated to be vinified as single vineyard bottlings. Thus the "Premium" and "Reserve" labels are made from single, adjacent vineyards, both plated in 1979. "Crown Prince" is a newer (15 year old), densely planted vineyard (9000 vines per hectare) giving only about 300 grams of fruit per vine. Jones has recently put in another 1 hectare vineyard about 500 meters from the Premium and Reserve with vines planted to an astonishing 17,000 vines per hectare. 2007 will be the first vintage released off this promising plot. In 1993 he began managing the vineyards organically and in 2002 he went biodynamic, though he is not certified. "Biodynamic treatments bring luminosity to the wines," Jones informed me. "The Pinot vinification is ridiculously simple," he continued. "We just plunge and the only additive is SO 2. The vats are insulated to hit a maximum of 32 degrees." Everything is de-stemmed but not crushed. The Premium and Reserve Pinots are aged in almost 100% new oak - light toast Francois Freres - for 12 to 20 months depending on the vineyard and season. There's no filtration here except for a coarse filtration when necessary on The Crown Prince and whites. Given the nature of natural winemaking, like most followers of this estate I've experienced a few dodgy bottles, but when Bass Philips hits the highs, it truly pushes the boundaries of Australian Pinot Noir greatness. The 2008 and 2009 Bass Phillip Pinot Noir releases should certainly be committed to the cellars of anyone who loves this grape.Importer: Old Bridge Cellars, Napa, CA; www.oldbridgecellars.com

The 2008 Reserve Pinot Noir displays a medium-deep ruby-purple with expressive violet and warm raspberry aromas over cranberries, pomegranate, spices, cedar and chocolate. The muscular, medium bodied palate offers concentrated flavors, firm grainy tannins and racy acidity, finishing very long. Consider broaching this from 2013 and it should drink to 2021+. One of the pioneers of high quality Pinot Noir production in Victoria, Phillip Jones is still leader of the Pinot pack in Australia. But the former research engineer didn't start out wanting to produce Pinot. "Originally I planted Bordeaux varieties because I wanted to make Ducru Beaucaillou in Australia," he laughed. "But I also planted a bit of Pinot." The Pinot Noir he planted in 1979 in Leongatha, Gippsland - a cooler, coastal region 150 kilometers southeast of Melbourne that is still known mainly for dairy and potato farming - turned out to be fantastic. Quite wisely, he ripped all the Cabernet Sauvignon out, planting Pinot Noir and some Chardonnay instead. Today, though about 4% of the property is planted to Chardonnay and there are tiny patches of Gamay, Gewurztraminer and Nebbiolo, the iconic estate known as Bass Phillip is still planted mainly to Pinot Noir (95%) consisting of 8 clones on 5 soil types. Over time, three distinctive sites were isolated to be vinified as single vineyard bottlings. Thus the "Premium" and "Reserve" labels are made from single, adjacent vineyards, both plated in 1979. "Crown Prince" is a newer (15 year old), densely planted vineyard (9000 vines per hectare) giving only about 300 grams of fruit per vine. Jones has recently put in another 1 hectare vineyard about 500 meters from the Premium and Reserve with vines planted to an astonishing 17,000 vines per hectare. 2007 will be the first vintage released off this promising plot. In 1993 he began managing the vineyards organically and in 2002 he went biodynamic, though he is not certified. "Biodynamic treatments bring luminosity to the wines," Jones informed me. "The Pinot vinification is ridiculously simple," he continued. "We just plunge and the only additive is SO 2. The vats are insulated to hit a maximum of 32 degrees." Everything is de-stemmed but not crushed. The Premium and Reserve Pinots are aged in almost 100% new oak - light toast Francois Freres - for 12 to 20 months depending on the vineyard and season. There's no filtration here except for a coarse filtration when necessary on The Crown Prince and whites. Given the nature of natural winemaking, like most followers of this estate I've experienced a few dodgy bottles, but when Bass Philips hits the highs, it truly pushes the boundaries of Australian Pinot Noir greatness. The 2008 and 2009 Bass Phillip Pinot Noir releases should certainly be committed to the cellars of anyone who loves this grape.Importer: Old Bridge Cellars, Napa, CA; www.oldbridgecellars.com

The 2007 Reserve Pinot Noir has a medium ruby color and is still very primary and youthful, giving a moderate intensity of warm red cherry and Provence herbs aromas with some black pepper and damp earth. Ripe, rich and medium bodied, it gives a good backbone of high acid, a medium-firm level of rounded tannins and a long earthy finish. Drink it now to 2020+. One of the pioneers of high quality Pinot Noir production in Victoria, Phillip Jones is still leader of the Pinot pack in Australia. But the former research engineer didn't start out wanting to produce Pinot. "Originally I planted Bordeaux varieties because I wanted to make Ducru Beaucaillou in Australia," he laughed. "But I also planted a bit of Pinot." The Pinot Noir he planted in 1979 in Leongatha, Gippsland - a cooler, coastal region 150 kilometers southeast of Melbourne that is still known mainly for dairy and potato farming - turned out to be fantastic. Quite wisely, he ripped all the Cabernet Sauvignon out, planting Pinot Noir and some Chardonnay instead. Today, though about 4% of the property is planted to Chardonnay and there are tiny patches of Gamay, Gewurztraminer and Nebbiolo, the iconic estate known as Bass Phillip is still planted mainly to Pinot Noir (95%) consisting of 8 clones on 5 soil types. Over time, three distinctive sites were isolated to be vinified as single vineyard bottlings. Thus the "Premium" and "Reserve" labels are made from single, adjacent vineyards, both plated in 1979. "Crown Prince" is a newer (15 year old), densely planted vineyard (9000 vines per hectare) giving only about 300 grams of fruit per vine. Jones has recently put in another 1 hectare vineyard about 500 meters from the Premium and Reserve with vines planted to an astonishing 17,000 vines per hectare. 2007 will be the first vintage released off this promising plot. In 1993 he began managing the vineyards organically and in 2002 he went biodynamic, though he is not certified. "Biodynamic treatments bring luminosity to the wines," Jones informed me. "The Pinot vinification is ridiculously simple," he continued. "We just plunge and the only additive is SO 2. The vats are insulated to hit a maximum of 32 degrees." Everything is de-stemmed but not crushed. The Premium and Reserve Pinots are aged in almost 100% new oak - light toast Francois Freres - for 12 to 20 months depending on the vineyard and season. There's no filtration here except for a coarse filtration when necessary on The Crown Prince and whites. Given the nature of natural winemaking, like most followers of this estate I've experienced a few dodgy bottles, but when Bass Philips hits the highs, it truly pushes the boundaries of Australian Pinot Noir greatness. The 2008 and 2009 Bass Phillip Pinot Noir releases should certainly be committed to the cellars of anyone who loves this grape.Importer: Old Bridge Cellars, Napa, CA; www.oldbridgecellars.com