2011 Giaconda Estate Nebbiolo, Beechworth

Trust Rick Kinzbrunner: take a rain-soaked vintage like ?11, a variety like nebbiolo, and give it close on 3 years in barrel, but he still achieves the near-impossible. The bouquet has all the violets and rose petals it is supposed to have, moving with deceptive ease into the sombre opening stanza of the palate before it, too, lifts with mouthwatering red and black cherry fruits, the tannins like the cellos in a symphony orchestra, insistent and underscoring the moment they are called upon to take command.

97 points James Halliday Wine Companion