Recent Releases: current reviews (May 2017):
“THE WINE FRONT”: Reviewers: Gary Walsh; Campbell Mattinson; Mike Bennie.
2015 Premium PN: So sure-footed and confident, it almost has a swagger. Cherry, sweet cinnamon and cedar oak, dried flowers, a little earthy bass. Medium bodied, silky and precise, with delectable savoury and fruit sweet switching, layered and complex already, laced up tight with ultra-fine pixel tannin, and long smashed strawberry and spice finish. A delight. Really needs a few years, or at worst, a good spell in a decanter. (Gary Walsh, The Wine Front, May 2017 ………. Score: 96/100)
2015 Reserve PN: Dance of the seven veils kind of Pinot here, where the moral of the story is ‘be patient’. Lavish clove, cinnamon and biscuit oak, deep dark cherry fruit, fresh tilled earthiness, a certain ‘minerality’ and a dried rose perfume. It’s medium bodied, thickly and sumptuously tannic, ribbons of silk, throaty and earthy dark cherry flavours, pencilly oak drawing lines for the future, and a very long and minerally finish. Depth and intensity. Tension and drama. It ‘feels’ Grand Cru, if that makes any sense. Wait. (Gary Walsh, The Wine Front, May 2017 ………. Score: 96+/100)
2015 Estate PN: Spice, red fruits, rose petal and vanilla, a bit of animal fur and earth, perhaps. Medium bodied at most, sappy and animated, redcurrant and pomegranate, fine burr of kitten’s tongue tannin, pleasing sense of delicacy, and pretty fine length. Delicious. (Gary Walsh, The Wine Front, May 2017 ………. Score: 94+/100)
2015 Crown Prince PN: Plenty of capsicum and piquant spice here, with ripe and fresh red fruits, and a light coverlet of sweet oak. Light and fresh, all sappy, spicy and strawberried, with clean lines, ripe tomato acidity, and a playful lick of tannin. Good finish. Nervy and energetic. Like this.(Gary Walsh, The Wine Front, May 2017 ………. Score: 93/100)
2015 Old Cellar PN: It’s a mulchy, spicy, smoky thing, with sour cherry and just-ripe strawberry flavours. Light bodied, fine-grained tannin, a little sweet and sour in profile, with bright acidity and a pretty good sappy finish. Good wine to enjoy over the shorter term. (Gary Walsh, The Wine Front, May 2017 ………. Score: 91/100)
2015 Issan PN: It’s beefed up with berried flavours but it also pours on the silk. The world of Bass Phillip in summary. Earth, fistfuls of spice, undergrowth, cedarwood and cream; complexity sits at the head of the table. Florals and blueberries, boysenberry and tangy cherry. It grows as it rests in the glass. Tannin creaks as the cogs of flavour turn. The reach of firm, tangy flavour here is excellent. It’s on the way to a very good place. (Campbell Mattinson, The Wine Front, May 2017 ………. Score: 93/100)
2015 Pinot Rose: It’s great to see quality grapes making rose wines. It’s purpose built rose, crushed and sent to barrels to mature. Delicious! Righteous stuff. Pale garnet pink in glass, a kiss of strawberry amongst cherry and cranberry and spice flavours. Touch of savouriness in perfume and a sprig of briar or dried herbs. It’s got superb texture, slippery but also with a succulence, acidity fresh and lively, fruit sweet and just a touch squeaky with attractive bitterness. Excellent wine, when you take a moment. Class rose. (Mike Bennie, The Wine Front, May 2017 ………. Score: 94/100)
2015 Gamay: It’s a tight, squeaky, leaner gamay but has all the cherry pip, herb and spice, refreshing acidity and purity of fruit you could ask for. Set in a mouthwatering needle thrust of texture, it dials in pickled and fresh cherry, undergrowth, amaro acidity and slender tannin. The bouquet is pretty, fresh, inviting. It opens beautifully, holds its shape, feels so satisfying to drink, moreish and gulpable. Beautiful expression for the gamay lover or enthusiast of light, fine red wines. (Mike Bennie, The Wine Front, May 2017 ………. Score: 95/100)
Summaries of "Style":
|
|
Production Level |
Vineyard Origin |
Vine Age |
Cropping |
Enjoy Drinking |
Cellaring Potential |
Descriptors:* |
|
Reserve |
very |
Estate |
31 |
1 |
3>>25 |
15 to 25 |
Subtle - Powerful finish - v. complex |
|
Premium |
small |
Estate |
31 |
1 |
3>>20 |
10 to 20 |
Layered - multi-flavoured - Long |
|
Estate |
good |
Estate & 'Leongatha' |
'22' |
1.2 |
2>>15 |
8 to 15 |
Rich fruits - Fat mid-palate |
|
Crown Prince |
major |
'Leongatha' |
14 |
1.3 |
2>>12 |
6 to 12 |
Sweet fruits - Soft, easy drink - Perfumed |
|
Premium |
very |
Estate |
31 |
1 |
2>>15 |
8 to 15 |
Intense - Powerful citrus - Firm acid |
|
Estate |
small |
'Leongatha' |
14 |
2 |
2>>12 |
8 to 12 |
Perfumed - Balanced - natural acid |
|
Gamay |
small |
Estate & 'Leongatha' |
'17' |
2.5 |
2>>8 |
6 to 8 |
Dark fruits - mouthfilling - Easy, balanced |
|
Pinot Rose |
good |
'Leongatha' |
14 |
2.5 |
1>5 |
5 |
Rich - complex - earthy, but fresh |
* Most of our red wines are soft & balanced, with good natural acidity, long flavour & "terroir"
Click to order Bass Phillip wine online.
Major Reviews of Bass Phillip Wines by leading critics:
"Make no mistake about it ... this a brilliant Pinot Noir, undoubtedly one of the finest being produced in Australia. Cote de Nuits-like characteristics are evident in the gorgeously sweet, plum, berry, and cherry fruit flavors infused with cinnamon and allspice. .... full-bodied, beautifully concentrated, with superb purity, creamy, big, thick, Burgundian-like texture (that has not been foolishly acidified), and a long, concentrated finish. Extremely complex, and more forward and evolved than most Burgundies are at a similar age, this is beautifully made wine. .... a brilliant effort."
- ROBERT M. PARKER JR, The Wine Advocate
“Imagine you were asked to select a Dream Team of Australian wines - a dozen bottles of modern classics to show some international wine-lovers the best that this country can produce. Which wines would you choose? I’d rather field a collection of single-region, single-vineyard wines that taste more of where they’re from than how they’ve been made.The only pinot noir in the list was Bass Phillip Premium."
- MAX ALLEN, The Weekend Australian Magazine, June 27-28, 2009 Click here to read more from Max Allen.
"It is (Bass Phillip Reserve 2010) the greatest Australasian pinot ever made, here is a wine of astonishing purity and elegant harmony….Over the years, (winemaker) Phillip Jones has toyed with true greatness. He has achieved it to an awesome degree.”
– James Halliday,
“Bass Phillip wines are very complex, delicious wines with mounting degrees of power and profundity.”
– Huon Hooke
“It is a madly rare, profoundly intense and exquisitely balanced wine which reflects the nuances of an exceptional vineyard site.”
- Langton’s Andrew Caillard MW.
“When Bass Phillips hits the highs, it truly pushes the boundaries of Australian Pinot Noir greatness.”
– Lisa Perrotti-Brown MW, Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
“Putting it simply, Bass Phillip has made some of best pinot noir I’ve drunk in my whole life, from anywhere of any age.”
– Robert Geddes MW, Wines That Make Me Thirsty.
Click to order Bass Phillip wine online.