2010 Vintage
Winewise – December 2011
Wedgetail Estate Single Vineyard Pinot Noir 2010
“This is a complex, spicy red fruits style with a suggestion of edgy volatility in the manner of many burgundies. It’s a wine packed full of interest”
2009 Vintage
10/08/12 Jancis Robinson on her web site
Light ruby colour with very fresh fruit, no sign of the dreaded smoke taint, and is altogether very cool climate and really rather delicate, dry and Burgundian. Very vital and pleasing, the wine was made with ambient yeast and aged for 12 months in French barriques. I would hate to be given it blind.
17/20. 12.5% Alc/vol
Wedgetail Pinot Noir 2009 is now being sold in the following UK establishments: Gordon Ramsay Restaurant Royal Hospital Road London – 3 Michelin Star · La Trompette Restaurant Chiswick London – 1 Michelin Star · Mao Tai Restaurant – Parsons Green London - Hotel Terravina -New Forest near Southampton UK (Gerard Basset’s Hotel – Best Sommelier in the World 2010 / Master Sommelier & Master of Wine)
2008 Vintage
www.winefront.com.au– March 2010– Gary Walsh
Wedgetail Estate Single Vineyard Pinot Noir 2008
It you’re not aware of Wedgetail Estate and have a taste for quality small maker Yarra Valley wines, then I’d recommend you seek them out.
Lovely spicy, wet soil, cherry, aniseed and rose petal flavours lead into a sweetly red fruited palate with firm fine tannins, bright crisp acidity and an expansive lightly stemmy finish. There’s a tinge of pretty vanilla nougat oak too, but it’s more or less fruit driven. Light but sure footed. This is an excellent Pinot of grace and substance. Rated : 93 Points
2006 Vintage
Winorama 22 April 2008– Gary Walsh
Tasting Notes and Australia and Yarra Valley and Variety and Red and Pinot Noir – Wedgetail Estate Pinot Noir 2006
I tasted this alongside the 2005 vintage and you can really taste the different growing seasons captured in the wine. I often think that grapes remember the weather much better than we do, especially those of us that only have slightly bigger than grape sized brains..and I know a fair few of them.It smells of cherry and other red fruits with plenty of spice and clean soil – a smell I often call ‘worm farm’ although that’s probably a bit esoteric. On the palate firm and muscular with bright acid and fluffy dry tannins offering authoritative grip. It’s a touch sappy too. It looks young and unevolved at the moment but I’d say it has good potential for further improvement. A convincing Pinot. Rated: 92+ Points
Stateside Cellars August 2008
Wedgetail Estate Single Vineyard Pinot Noir 2006
Aromatic wine jumps from the glass opening to barnyard and black cherries. After a few minutes it opens up and the fruit is clean and pure. The palate is well structured with good oak integration and some firm but elegant tannins on the finish.
2005 Vintage
Winorama 22 April 2008– Gary Walsh
Tasting Notes and Australia and Yarra Valley and Variety and Red and Pinot Noir – Wedgetail Estate Pinot Noir 2005
There’s apparently a few cases of this still available ex-winery although the 2006 is now the current release. I’m becoming something of an (inadvertent) champion for Yarra Valley wine these days, one way or another, and let me say I’m always very happy to see them come through the door. Big wines are great, but they tire you out pretty quickly, so it’s often Yarra to the rescue with refreshment and style. And this wine has both of those characters in abundance.
Colour looks a bit developed but it smells pretty with spice, red fruits, forest, clean earth and flowering basil. There’s a bit of stem here to add interest too. In the mouth it’s medium bodied offering a mix of black cherry, strawberry and raspberry with spice, mint and earthy characters. It feels light and balanced, cool and fresh, with a lovely gentle texture and light dry tannin. A graceful wine that flows along beautifully and closes with excellent length of flavour. Imagine a cool summer evening picnic by the edge of a fragrant forest and you have the mood. 93 Points
James Halliday – Australian Wine Companion 2008
Single Vineyard Yarra Valley Pinot Noir 2005
Light to medium red; sappy/spicy/foresty/earthy aromas lead to a very long palate, adding red and cherry to the mix; zesty style. Screwcap. 13.5% alc. Rating 94 to 2012.
2004 Vintage
Winestate January 25 2007
Wedgetail Estate Single Vineyard Yarra Valley Pinot Noir 2004 * * * * *
Intense, sappy/plumy pinot with a chocolate/prune bouquet and a very rich and intensely flavoured palate, “ripe fruit” and “stalky overtones” and complemented by some subtle oak.
The Age Newspaper January 2, 2007
Ralph Kyte-Powell “Indulge yourself”
WEDGETAIL ESTATE SINGLE VINEYARD PINOT NOIR 2004
As Wedgetail vineyard matures, so too does the style of its Yarra Valley pinot noir. This is one of the best yet. A wine that evolves a lot with breathing, it’s not a sweet fruit -bomb like some contemporary pinots. It shows elegant varietal aromas of plum, forest fruits and spice, seasoned with subtle oak, and the palate is silky, fine and long with good structure.
Aging? Drink over three years.
Food ideas: Roast chicken with exotic mushrooms; veal chops
Stockists include: Cloudwine, South Melbourne and Camberwell; Randall the Wine Merchant, Albert Park.
James Halliday – Australian Wine Companion 2007
2004 Single Vineyard Pinot Noir
Deeper colour than the reserve; no reduction whatsoever; riper, more complex and more structure, though no more finesse. A whisker in it. Screwcap. 13.5 alc. Rating 94. Drink 2013. $38
2003 Vintage
Under the Radar website – July 2006
By Paul Ippolito
Wedgetail Pinot Noir 2003
Wedgetail Pinot Noir 2003 – Boutique Yarra Valley producer Guy Lamothe has produced a very good handcrafted low yield Pinot Noir from this excellent vintage. Bright garnet red with faint purple hues. An aromatically fragrant vibrant spicy nose with polished fruit. Think red cherries, a hint of luscious plum, earthy notes, truffles and forest floor – quite a complex wine, delivered with subtly, delicacy and class – a lovely soft acidity with a beautiful roundness on the palate follows – it lingers long. Overall a light to medium bodied wine with cherries and strawberries on the finish. It is just delicious to savour. Drink 2006 – 2010. Try with roast pork stuffed with dates and walnuts.
Wine Front Monthly – March 2006
By Campbell Mattison
Wedgetail Estate Yarra Vally Single Vineyard Pinot Noir 2003
Oooh yes, sizzlingly good pinot. Really. Concentrated, varietal, minerally and long, curly bangs of black cherried fruit working with spicy oak and sap to put on a strong, impressive, enchanting show. The aftertaste has some bitterness but time will massage this out – quite blown away by this, it’s outstanding. Drink: 2009 – 2015. 93pts.
James Halliday – Australian Wine Companion 2006
2003 Pinot Noir
Medium-bodied; sweet damson plum and spice; silky texture and considerable length; has finesse. Quality cork. Rating 93. Drink 2010.
2002 Vintage
James Halliday – Australian Wine Companion 2005
2002 Pinot Noir
Complex, savoury, foresty; has finesse but not the flavour one expects. Rating 89. Drink 2008.
2001 Vintage
MX Lifstyle
2001 Pinot Noir
Complex yet elegant, this Yarra Vally star is fabulous right now or will cellar for a few years. Purple-red in colour, it has berry and earthy aromas, plummy flavours and is long and smooth on the palate. Accompany with rack of lamb or roast chicken.
The Age Newspaper – March 20, 2004
By Bob Hart
2001 Pinot Noir
“We stayed close to home but, having a fondness for heights, addressed a bottle of excellent 2001 Wedgetail Estate Pinot Noir at a realistic $45. Excellent: the vin end of the Wedge.”
James Halliday – Australian Wine Companion 2004
2001 Pinot Noir
Light to medium purple-red; an aromatic and complex array of plum, spice and earth aromas are followed by a palate with silk texture, good length, and a lively finish. There was no Reserve Pinot made this vintage. Rating 94 Drink Now 2007 Best Vintages ’98 ’99 ’00 ’01 Drink with Roast quail
1999 Vintage
Graham Mitchell Vintners Ltd [UK] – March 10 2004
By Graham Mitchell
1999 Pinot Noir
Fine Pinot Noir from The Yarra Valley Victoria Australia The Wedgetail Estate is located in the cool climate of the picturesque Yarra Valley just east of Melbourne in Victoria, Australia. The vineyard has only 6 hectares under vine and this limited production is made even more precious by controlling the yield to 2 tonnes of grapes per acre. The results are exceptional quality fruit with intense flavours and complexity. Wedgetail was describe by James Halliday, the well known Australian ine writer as making “truly excellent wine”. The winemaker and owner is a Frenchman called Guy Lamothe who is making quality wines using the finest French oak and some useful experience gained in Meursault in Burgundy. Wedgetail Estate appears on the wine lists of some of Melbourne’s finest restaurants such a Langtons, Est Est Est and Republic as well as Sydney’s Aria and Aqua Luna. The Wedgetail Style is a fusion of centuries of old Burgundian tradition, the new Australian reverence for grape quality and Guy’s individual wine making flair. I have managed to acquire a small parcel of Wedgetail Estate Pinot Noir 1999. This wine received 90 points out of 100 from James Halliday. It has a glorious ruby colour, ripe succulent concentrated cherry and plum fruit, balanced with fine spicy velvety tannins. This is a rare beast, a superb Pinot which will not be a disappointment. I guarantee. It is so good that when I gave it blind to my father, he thought it was a Cote de Nuits from Burgundy. It was matured in small oak casks for a year with 25% new oak prior to bottling. It is ready to drink now or could be kept longer to further develop those notorious truffle flavours of serious Pinot. This is one of the top wines to come out of Australia, but happily at a sensible price since I import it directly from the vineyard, missing out the middle mand and thus providing truly excellent value for money. I can only supply one case of 12 bottles of this wine per customer since Guy only allows a small amount to leave Australia. I can offer you this wine at 178.0 or a case of 12 bottles with deliver free of charge. This offer is valid until the end of play Wednesday 17th March 2004. My guarantee, as always, applies so if you don’t like the wine, I will take it back with no quibbles.”
Yarra Valley Wine Guide – 1999
By Max Allen
Pinot Noir & Cabernet
($18 through the mailing list, wild yeast fermented and unfiltered), had an attractive fleshy texture, good tannin and alluring sour cherry flavours, while the 1997 cabernet (also $18 and containing 15per cent merlot) was bright, tight and grippy. There is a noticeable minty edge to both (more so in the caberet) which I think is a character of the area they are in and Lamothe thinks is due to the youth of the vines. But I’m quibbling. This is a impressive debut.
1997 Vintage
Cheong Liew’s Duck & Pinot Walk – May 22nd 1999
By Franz Scheurer
1997 Pinot Noir-Len Kyte
Great match with the tofu! This is a wonderful pinot and we were honoured to taste the first ever release from this vineyard. Watch out for them in the future.
