William Downie: latest releases & an interview about the exciting 2011 Pinot Noirs

They say one man’s meat is another man’s poison and so it was for Pinot Noir specialist William (Bill) Downie in the 2011 vintage, in which the eastern states experienced unprecedented wet, cool weather over summer and through autumn (click here for the Winemakers Federation of Australia’s 2011 vintage report).

As Downie puts it “Pinot Noir likes it wet” so, for him “there are things about 2011 I actually prefer.”   In fact, he says, flirting with disaster at the most southerly, marginal source of his fruit has produced his favourite wine (Downie sources fruit from the Yarra Valley, Gippsland and Mornington Peninsula – see map below).

Click here for Downie’s take on the 2011 vintage – strengths and weakness, also the national surplus and check out my tasting notes on his current crop of Pinot Noirs below.  And you’ll find the first of my series of interviews with Liberty Wines’ premium Australia producers at this link Tim Kirk of Clonakilla on 2011 & celebrating great sites (and my tasting notes on Clonakilla’s latest releases here).

William Downie Yarra Valley Pinot Noir 2010

Fruit is sourced from Denton View Hill, in Yarra Glen, which is on grey clay loam over granite.  Quite pale with an expressive, perfuned nose and palate animated by vivid red cherry and currant.  An underbelly of darker cassis and earth notes hints at greater complexity to come.  A lovely, fluid Pinot with ripe but present tannins.  A great example of this cracking Yarra vintage.

William Downie Gippsland Pinot Noir 2010

Downie’s own vineyard is in the Gippsland region about which I know very little.  It’s a sprawling region which accounts for 25% of Victoria’s land mass and, vinously speaking, was put on the map by Pinot Noir thanks to Bass Phillip in South Gippsland.  Downie’s close planted (11,000 vines/ha) vineyard is in the west, but fruit is yet to come onstream. Fruit is sourced from Lucinda Estate, Leongatha, Gippsland and Berrys Creek Vineyard, Berrys Creek, Gippsland, both of which are on red volcanic clay loams.  I have to admit I’ve tended to find Gippsland Pinot Noir quite gangly in its youth and hard to get a handle on and this is no exception – it’s quite austere, yet chunky with its bright acidity and overlay of oak as the spicy fruit beneath struggles to find its mark.  It needs time to flesh out and find its feet.  With a firm backbone of tannins and fresh acidity, it certainly has time on its side.  One to revisit.

William Downie Mornington Pinot Noir 2010

Fruit is sourced from Merricks Grove, Merricks, which is on red volcanic clay loams.  With great intensity on nose and palate, it shows ripe but well defined raspberry, cranberry and redcurrant fruit subtly edged with leaf and aromatic five spice notes. Textured suede tannins bring an attractive earthiness.  A powerful Pinot with impressive balance, layer and line.

William Downie Yarra Valley Pinot Noir 2004

Downie says this late starting vintage was not dissimilar to 2011, though not as wet; this wine was picked at 10.8 baume.  Once pretty and pale it’s now a little bricky, still pale, but there’s no shortage of intensity to its mature, gamey plum spice and chocolate edged palate, though perhaps not quite as much as when I tasted this wine last year (see here).   Fine tannins make for a refined finish.  One to savour now.