2018 Freycinet Pinot Noir, Bicheno

Hand-picked, 95% whole berry/5% whole bunch, 28 and 48 days on skins (for 80% and 20% of the wine respectively), matured for 16 months in French oak (36% new). Radically different to Louis. Medium-bodied with spicy/savoury notes from start to finish. Both this and Louis need time for the tannins to soften.

95 points James Halliday winecompanion.com.au 1 August 2020

Few wineries are as closely connected to Tasmania's East Coast as Freycinet Vineyard. Established in 1979 by the Bull family near Bicheno, the estate was among the pioneers who helped reveal Tasmania's potential for world class Pinot Noir. Today, the vineyard remains family owned, with Lindy Bull and Claudio Radenti continuing a tradition of meticulous viticulture and thoughtful winemaking. The combination of maritime influence, ancient granite soils and a long growing season has made Freycinet one of Tasmania's benchmark Pinot Noir producers.

The 2018 vintage is regarded as one of Tasmania's finest, delivering exceptional fruit quality, concentration and balance. The East Coast enjoyed a warm, dry growing season that allowed Pinot Noir to achieve full flavour development while retaining the freshness and elegance for which the region is renowned. With several years of bottle age, this wine is now entering a particularly rewarding stage of its evolution.

Deep ruby red with garnet highlights, the bouquet is wonderfully complex, revealing aromas of dark cherry, wild strawberry and plum layered with rose petal, five spice and forest floor notes. Time in bottle has brought additional characters of dried herbs, earthy truffle and fine oak spice. The palate is beautifully textured and seamless, combining ripe red and dark berry fruits with savoury complexity and silky tannins. Fresh acidity keeps the wine vibrant and energetic, while the finish unfolds slowly with notes of spice, undergrowth and lingering cherry fruit.

This is a Pinot Noir that shines at the table. Pair it with roast duck, slow cooked pork belly, grilled Atlantic salmon, wild mushroom risotto or a beetroot and walnut tart. Drinking beautifully now, it will continue to evolve gracefully over the next five to eight years, developing even greater complexity and nuance.

Cellaring: Drink now to 2033.