Pinot Smack Down ‘Aussie vs French’ Round #1

Why is this Wine so Yummy?

When Pinot first hit the wineries in Australia, we were all trying to make Burgundy, now a couple of decades later everyone is pretty comfortable with the fact the we are not Burgundy, we are Australia. Now we strive to make the best Aussie Pinot we can. Michael Dillon from Bindi summed up Australia’s progression with Pinot beautiful in a video interview we did a couple of months ago. In summary vine maturity and winemaking wisdom, garnered through experience is leading to Australia producer better and better Pinot.

Today we compare Yabby Lake’s Block 1 Pinot with Domaine SC Guillards Gevrey-Chambertin Vielles Vignes ‘Aux Corvées’. Both 2015, a great Pinot year. It’s not really a pissing competition, just an opportunity to drink great wines and celebrate the difference.

Yabby Lake Block 1 Pinot 2015

The most Feminine and Elegant of the Yabby Lake Block Pinot’s … it’ll entice you all the way to the bottom of the glass!

The 2012 was the 1st Pinot to win the Jimmy Watson Trophy at the Melbourne Wine Show. We tasted both 2012 & 2015 together and I can’t wait to see the 2015 in a few years.

The wine was made from 100% MV6 clone Pinot. One of the clones that has been around for the longest in Australia. 100% Whole Bunch fermentation has given the wine a great spice lift, with incredible floral aromas. The core of fruit is insane, there’s an explosion of flavour, yet the wine remains poised, detailed and expressive. It’s beautifully balanced with a great tension between acid and tannin.

Check out the detail that goes into making the wine in our Wine Bites Mag Article ‘Winemaking Excellence – Fruit Sorting & Destemming at Yabby Lake with Tom Carson’.

Domaine SC Guillard Gevrey-Chambertin Vielles Vignes ‘Aux Corvées’

This is classic Gevrey-Chambertin bold flavours, with earthiness, richness, and, beautiful supple mouthfilling tannins. Darker fruit characters, a hint of spice, great balance will great you! A more masculine style than the Yabby Lake, just as enticing!

Domaine Guillard is definitely under the radar. The owner, Michel does not own a computer. He does not have a cellar door and rarely opens his door, that is if you manage to find his winery. He has a fax machine but admits with a grin that he often does not put paper in it.

Tom, who with his partner Nadege imports the wine, found the Domaine by accident in 1992 when he did his first vintage in Burgundy and we have been going back regularly since then. Sometimes they were lucky enough to find Michel in his cellar and managed to buy some wine.

After many years of buying his wines, they managed to convince Monsieur Guillard to let them import a few bottles to Australia.