Brook Eden 2010 Pinot Noir

It may seem, at times, that I'm not overly critical when it comes to wine but when you're buying from around two dozen wineries that are almost invariably Halliday 5* operations I'm not that likely to be running across too many duds, am I?

From time to time, however, there's the odd thing that I don't quite get, and one of them is the make up of the Pinot Noir half of the Winter 2011 Brook Eden Vintage Club pack.

As far as the Chardonnay side of the pack is concerned I've already marked down the '10 as one to watch out for when it goes on sale, and with the '09 currently on sale that may not be so far into the future.

I've still got another bottle of the 2010 on hand, and an '09 for comparative purposes.

It's a bit more difficult with the Pinot Noir.

I'm not the greatest fan of Pinot Noir, since our visit to the Yarra Valley was well before my palate started to veer away from big old-style full-bodied reds. Most of the Pinots I tried while we were there were very light bodied, and I found myself using the term strawberry flavoured lolly water with alarming frequency.

That's probably a case of not going to the right places, an underdeveloped palate, and my bad luck but I was much more impressed when we got to northern Tasmania a bit under a year later.

Still, I'm not entirely convinced, and Brook Eden is about the only place I buy from regularly that does Pinot (Pfeiffers do as well, but I haven't lined up for a reorder) so I don't get to taste a whole lot of them.

With the 2008 currently on sale, you'd assume that it'll be a good eighteen months before the '10 Pinot goes on sale, which seems like a remarkably long lead in time for the two bottles in the pack.

I've got a bottle of the '08 that'll be sampled in the not too distant future, and when I look back into the archives to when the '08 first landed in these parts I noted that pack two years ago had a bottle of the '07 for comparative purposes.

I can't help thinking that single bottles of the '10, the '09 and the currently available '08 might have worked a bit better in a sort of here's the most recent one that won't be out for a while, here's the '09 that'll be on sale shortly, and here's the current release, so you can see how the '10 is likely to be in twelve months time and what to expect when it eventually goes on sale...

Brook Eden 2010 Pinot Noir (4* $32 Vintage Club when it comes out? RRP should be around $39) Deep bright medium red with traces of purple in the glass, savoury bouquet with cherry notes and a medium bodied mouthfeel with asoft tannins and a variety of (probably still under-developed) flavours across the palate. Still very young, but I suspect it has what it takes. Will be interesting to try it again in the 2013 Vintage Club pack…

Brook Eden 2010 Chardonnay

With a little over a month to go before the current newsletter's 10% off or freight free offer (I'll be taking the freight free if and when the order goes in) expires at the end of September it was well and truly time to go looking at the contents of the most recent Brook Eden Vintage Club tasting pack.

I've remarked elsewhere on some of the different approaches to this regular tasting pack concept, like the Hay Shed Hill Four seasons (Chardonnay in the spring, SSB for Summer, Sangiovese and Tempranillo for Autumn and Cabernet Sauvignon in the depths of Winter) and the Pfeiffer three mixed dozens that seem to stretch beyond the regular range and therefore need to be topped up with museum releases.

The Brook Eden version comes in the form of two half-dozens, with wooded styles turning up on the doorstep in the middle of the year and the unwooded styles lobbing in time for the Silly Season, which then translates to Chardonnay and Pinot Noir in winter and Pinot Gris, Pinor Rose and Riesling in summer.

We're talking a small operation, so presumably the Vintage Club takes a substantial chunk out of each year's production. As a result I guess it's a question of how you pitch your selection in the guaranteed sales department with a view to maximising the sales further down the line.

With the winter packs, three bottles of Pinot Noir and three bottles of Chardonnay from the current release would probably take a fair chunk out of stocks on hand, but there's also the chance to generate a buzz for the next release by slipping the wines into the Vintage Club pack, which is presumably the thinking behind slipping the 2010 Chardonnay and Pinot Noir into the box when the accompanying price list offers the '09 Chardonnay and '08 Pinot.

This time around there are two bottles of the two '10s, along with an '08 Pinot and an '09 Chardonnay for comparative purposes, an indication of how the babies are likely to develop, and a reminder that the comparisons are still available through the cellar door. Clever.

In any case, issues relating to getting the cases off the office floor by making spaces in the wine rack meant that recently I've been running down the stocks of short term drinking styles, but the need to figure out what we're doing about the Brook Eden matter had me turning to the '10 Chardonnay last night.

It'll be a while before it'll be available for general sale, and while I could hold onto the other bottle till somewhere a bit closer to the actual release as a reminder of a wine that impressed in its infancy, presumably it'll turn up again in the middle of next year for comparative purposes with the 2012.

Brook Eden 2010 Chardonnay (4.5* $? presumably somewhere between $32 and $27) Straw coloured, tightly wound perfumed nose that offered the promise of interesting things to come and opened up quite a lot over time, as did (surprise, surprise) the palate. Soft across the taste buds with peaches and a hint of cream that'll presumably come through increasingly as the wine develops in the bottle. Elegant style with plenty of interest that'll be worth investigating, say, in about three months and again when the Winter 2012 Vintage Club pack arrives on the doorstep. Given the fact that it's not on sale to the public yet, and presumably won't be for a while it's not one for the summer drinking order, but further down the track...

Brook Eden 2009 Pinot Gris

Well, it's not quite spring, but you can see the top of the vernal head lurking around the horizon.

And in spring, they say, a young man's thoughts turn to…

Well, you and I know where they turn, but when you've got a few more ks on the odometer you start thinking in other directions and with summer following spring as certainly as the sight of three scurrying felines follows the sound of footsteps on gravel at the end of the morning walk the Bowen wine drinker's thoughts tend towards the topic of summer drinking.

We're not quite in summer, of course, and knowing we've got two cases from Cullens that should be just about here, considering the possibility of phoning an order for a mixed case of Mort's Block and Mort's Reserve Riesling through to Killikanoon, anticipating news of new releases from that nice Mr Grosset and a six pack of Hay Shed Hill 'Block 6' Chardonnay it's a case of getting those boxes off the floor, creating a bit of space in the wine rack and, coincidentally, framing a few thoughts about what we'll be drinking over summer.

And just to throw the cat in among the pigeons there's the odd freight free till whenever offer like the one I received in the mail from Brook Eden. At the Vintage Club price of $20 freight free till the end of September this little number, along with the dry Riesling and the '10 Pinot Rose (not quite as good as the '09, but still definite summer drinking candidate) looks rather appealing.

Brook Eden 2009 Pinot Gris (4.5/5 $20) Straw-coloured, fragrant nose with loads of pear notes. An impressive subtler style that's quite delicious with plenty of lingering flavour. Definitely one to reorder.

Brook Eden 2009 Pinot Noir (Relocated)

Beef Stroganoff usually has me reaching for the Pinot bottle, and though I remain a fence-sitter on the question of the varietal, the Brook Eden take on it works for me.

Brook Eden 2009 Pinot Noir (4.5* $?) Impressive medium-bodied style that continues the process of converting a Pinot-sceptic. Supple palate with cherry and berry overtones and soft tannins. Will need to be quick if looking to order as it won't be released until some time in 2011 and they only made 1900 bottles. Still, could definitely be tempted!

Brook Eden 2010 Riesling (Relocated)

Given my financial druthers I could well be persuaded to operate a two-house lifestyle, wintering in northern Queensland and spending the summer months somewhere like Tasmania's Tamar Valley, which would give me ready access to the likes of this rather classy Riesling without the arm and a leg $35/dozen for freight!

Brook Eden 2010 Riesling (4.5* 18.5 points $22.50) Pale straw, almost transparent in the glass, with generous notes on the nose and a crisp finish once the lime characters have passed over the palate. Very tasty lunchtime style and the rest of the bottle went down with last night's Thai style curry. Reorder (along with the Pinot Gris and Pinot Rose) duly placed.