For the quarter century and more that I have been writing about wine, people have expected great things from Tasmanian pinot noir. During that time, Tasmanian pinot has flaunted its potential and flirted with greatness. But it has never delivered enough of a critical mass to deliver anything more than sporadic fire upon the awareness of the keen pinot drinker. I now have a feeling that all that’s about to change, and quickly.Despite the fact that Burgundy is further than anywhere in Tasmania from a coastline, and that there’s little geologically in common between the home of pinot and our southernmost state, Tasmania has been touted since the late 1980s as the place most likely to impress with its pinot noir. Prior to then, its first pinot planting was La Provence Vineyard at Lalla (close to the Piper’s River area in Tasmania’s north-east) in 1956, followed by the early plantings of Claude Alcorso at Moorilla Estate near Hobart two years later. Oddly, perhaps, but consistent with Australia’s then preoccupation with the cabernet varieties, Tasmania’s vineyards were far more widely planted to cabernet sauvignon. Moorilla, one of pinot’s prime movers in Tasmania, didn’t make pinot its prime concern until after its excellent 1984 wine.Wine drinkers throughout the 1980s were also tantalised by seductive, ethereal but sadly ephemeral pinots from vineyards like Piper’s Brook, Heemskerk, Rotherhythe and Marion’s Vineyard and some encouraging vintages from Delamere. Tasmania was promising much, but was unable to deliver with consistency.In my view there was insufficient knowledge and experience in Tasmania at the time to handle what has become known as the ‘heartbreak grape’ with the aplomb it undoubtedly requires. A repeating phenomenon across the opening up of new wine regions in Australia is that most early developments are made by people with more enthusiasm than expertise. Furthermore, it takes time to accumulate a body of knowledge about a region to answer questions like the best kind of site, the most appropriate clones, the best pruning and trellising techniques and the best sub-regions. It’s no accident that later arrivals into a wine region often perform at a high level Ð for they can take advantage of the experience, and the mistakes, of others before them. I wrote with some regularity throughout the 1980s and early 1990s that there needed to be more technical expertise in Tasmania. Its pinots often reveal depth and richness of fruit åÂÐ the kind that can only emerge from a very good vineyard site Ð but not the style and polish of the more professional makers from other regions that might not have been able to access fruit of Tasmania’s quality. Today there’s plenty of winemaking smarts in Tasmania, as well as a deep body of local knowledge.There’s also been some climate change Ð temporary or long-term Ð of which Tasmania is unquestionably a beneficiary. Where the pinots of the 1980s and early 1990s were frequently thin, green and weedy Ð reflective of under-ripe fruit Ð it’s actually quite easy to over-ripen Tasmanian pinot today. Right now, while there are still some very fine sites in the Yarra Valley able to produce excellent pinot, Australia’s two leading makers of pinot noir are shortly to become the Mornington Peninsula (especially from the higher sites) and Tasmania.The 1990s saw the next wave of Tasmanian pinot noir, with vineyards and makers like Freycinet, Winstead, Apsley Gorge, Elsewhere Vineyard, Stefano Lubiana, Domaine A and Spring Vale showing promise. Of these, Freycinet has crafted a fine track record of ethereal, elegant and classically styled pinot from its remarkable East Coast site, while Domaine A has developed a rather tightly focused, more dusty and herbal expression that can flower beautifully in the bottle with time. Sourced from the estate at Granton, north of Hobart on the Derwent River, Stefano Lubiana releases a trio of pinots: the fresh, fragrant and very open ‘Primavera’, the more structured and longer-term ‘Estate’ release and the rare, but quite brilliant ‘Sasso’ reserve level. Today there is a new, emergent group of Tasmanian pinot maker whose wines have the potential to take the breed to a higher level. From Pipers River in the state’s north come the deeply flavoured, sumptuous pinot of Sinapius, some expressions of genuine depth and finesse from Dalrymple Estate and the resurgent, finely crafted and deeply flavoured wines from Delamere’s mature vineyard. The Tamar Valley is home to the deeply flavoured Holyman and the Stoney Rise pinots of Joe Holyman, and the improving results from Grey Sands’ close-planted vineyard.In the south, Frogmore Creek is beginning to deliver on its undoubted potential, while Pooley in the Coal River Valley has substantially refined its offering. Up the east cost, Cape Bernier has evolved a more classically structured style, while from further north towards Bicheno come the stylish and balanced wines from Coombend and the newly resurgent Spring Vale, which in recent seasons has evolved more depth and structure in its wines. Sourcing fruit from several different Tasmanian sites each year, Fran Bailey is steadily refining her fragrant, willowy Bay of Fires wines.The prize for pinot is now Tasmania’s to take. It’s not there yet Ð and if its makers believe they’ve already made it they never will get there Ð but there is now clearly the knowledge, the experience and the necessary depth and spread of quality pinot vineyard for Tasmania to dominate this category into the future. After more than three decades of development, Tassie pinot stands a chance of becoming seen as an overnight success!
