Description

Two friends; Burgundian winemaker Pascal Marchand (ex Domaine Comte Armand & Domaine De La Vougeraie) and Jeff Burch, owner of Howard Park. They have teamed up to exploit their love of Pinot Noir and ability to access fruit from small parcels of vineyards in Burgundy, Margaret River and the Great Southern.

This is from three east facing plots in Volnay that offer crunchy red berries, currants, roses, violets and a stone core. There is a hint of oak here and lively acidity. The perfume and acid would cut through a mild goat curry with gusto. Short to mid term aging is possible but I feel it is showing very well now.

Volnay – Lighter, elegant, perfumed reds from Cote du Beaune. Not as well regarded as some appellations, these wines from good producers are as good as any in Burgundy.

Burgundy – The classic part of Burgundy known as the Cote D’Or (the slope of gold) is essentially one vineyard that is 60km long and maybe 5km at its widest. From this limestone ridge some of the most complex, long-lived and aromatic wines are produced from Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. The Cistercian monks who owned the land codified the entire region and so each small plot has a name.

Pinot Noir – This is the most elusive grape. It is relatively early ripening and extremely sensitive to terroir. Its perfect place on earth is the Cote d’Or in Burgundy. So haunting are great red Burgundy’s charms that growers everywhere try to emulate them. Pinot Noir is not just a one trick pony, it can make great reds, rosé, sparkling and even sweet wines, whites on occasion and I’ve tasted a decent fortified Pinot Noir too.