2021 Best's Great Western Old Vine Pinot Meunier, Great Western

Hand-picked fruit fermented in small, open-top fermenter with 25% whole bunches, basket pressed to French barriques (25% new), matured 8 months in oak. Sourced from the original 1868 plantings of pinot meunier. Prepare yourself for an exquisite beauty of a wine. It enjoys an effortless purity of fruit; from aroma to palate there's a delicacy of concentrated red berries, pomegranate, violet, dusty earth, underbrush and dried herbs. Superfine across the palate, almost sinewy at this early stage, but supported by firm, focused tannins for a lot more time in bottle. A lot more.

96 Points, Jeni Port for winecompanion.com.au, Published 16 August 2022

Pinot Meunier vineyards were first planted in 1868, comprising about 85% Pinot Meunier and the remaining component being Pinot Noir. Today, we hand-pick and sort the grapes, which are then fermented in small open fermenters and matured in French oak. It is the earliest picked red grape at Best's.

The Best’s Old Vine Pinot Meunier has a cult following, particularly in the wine community, where people understand the scarcity of this varietal planting. Best’s Old Vine Pinot Meunier is made only in the best vintages; in other years, the fruit goes into Best’s Concongella Collection Pinot Meunier/Noir

Bright mid crimson with a pale vermillion hue. A heady perfume of primary fruits, dried cranberries, cherries and freshly ground spices. Intriguing and beguiling. Concentrated and dense, but light bodied. The fruit flavours are layered with spices and framed with silky tannins. Good to drink in the short term but it will reward cellaring in ideal conditions for 20 years or more