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The intoxicating resonance of the siren’s song lured many ancient mariners to their destruction on the three jagged and treacherous rocks called Sirenum scopuli. Their beautiful voices promised wisdom, knowledge and the quickening of the spirit. Over time a boneyard of wrecked seafarers – captivated by the siren’s extraodinary beauty – piled up on the shoreline. On our wine planet, populated by less than 4% of the world’s inhabitants, Pinot Noir plays only a nano-part in the commercial activity of fine wine. The figures show that most wine drinkers prefer other wines. Yet this extraordinary variety – if placed on the right rock and tended with devoted madness – can be so utterly ethereal and unworldly to drive both winemakers and fine wine drinkers to complete distraction. Great Pinot has the same effect on the soul as the luminescent nacre of baroque pearls or the pulsating tones of Gauguin’s colours.
Unfortunately they are very rare, highly sought and often well beyond the purse of us mere mortals.
Phillip Jones (pictured) is just one Australian wine maker who has been seduced by Pinot Noir. After a brief love affair with the wines of Chateau Ducru Beaucaillou, he discovered and was captivated by the remarkable wines of the late Henri Jayer, a legendary Burgundian wine producer. His vineyard mostly planted to Cabernet varieties was all but ripped out and replanted to Pinot Noir beginning a life time’s search for that elusive experience of perfection. It has been a journey of dogged determination and utter folly. Yet his Bass Phillip wines have both captured the imagination of wine collectors and inspired significant debate among the sophists and followers of Pinot Noir.
Last year South Gippsland ’s Bass Phillip Reserve Pinot Noir – one of Australia’s great auction wines – was classified Exceptional by Langton’s. Penfolds Grange, Henschke Hill of Grace and Leeuwin Estate Art Series Chardonnay also grace this top level of performance. Both the Premium and estate grown Pinot Noirs are also consistent performers on the secondary market and included in Langton’s Classification of Australian Wine.
Yet behind this immutable truth is a philosophical controversy. C’est magnifique mais ce nais pas Pinot Noir? For technocrats they are maddeningly different and difficult to define. However there is something fascinating and special about Bass Phillip’s Reserve and Premium wines. At the very least they are wonderful conversation wines. With such a hefty price tag (but still a fraction of some Grand Crus) they create expectations and comparisons to Burgundy. The media truffle hounds inevitably look at whether they deliver value or fit within the mold. They do neither. Bass Phillip is unique.
These wines can be incredibly complex and sinuous. They evolve and change in the glass. One instant they can smell of pure dark cherries, red plums and cranberries and then another moment they pervade of frankincense, wood varnish and gardenias. At a recent tasting the 2004, 2003, 1998 and 1997 Bass Phillip Reserve Pinot Noir showed remarkable puissance and elegance with gorgeous fruit density and beautiful silken tannins. The more classically styled Premiums can also deliver the goods. The 2004, 2003, 2001, 1998 and 1997 showed up beautifully with excellent fruit definition, plenty of volume and lacey tannins. Some of the older vintages (the 1985s and 1989s) however, are looking tired with fading fruit and sinewy dry tannins.
While more recent vintages of the likeable estate grown Bass Phillip Pinot Noir show character and some promise, they are certainly not in the class of the Premium or Reserve wines. The quality then drops off somewhat with Bass Phillip’s rather underpowered Village, Issan and Belrose labels. The Domaine Phillip Jones Old Cellar and Classic labels are also modest efforts. This story of stark contrasts is of course related to the amount of work and sacrifice required to make something special.
Aside from the peculiarities of vineyard site and winemaking philosophy, there is also a direct relationship between time, yield and quality. Bass Phillip’s low cropping older Estate vineyard at Leongatha – which produces the Reserve, Premium and estate Pinot Noirs – is planted to 9000 vines per hectare and yields roughly 270 grams of fruit per vine. A typical ultra-fine Australian vineyard at 2000 vines per hectare will yield around 2.5 kilograms per vine. And a Grand Cru Burgundy vineyard at 10,000 vines per hectare will typically yield around 500 grams per vine. Such figures illustrate the imperatives of finding a means to an end. A while ago Phillip Jones drew me a ‘mud map’ of his vineyard explaining the division of his Reserve, Premium and Estate Pinot Noir vines. Curiously his labels identically reflect his convictions and purpose. However you can’t make a decent living out of desperately low yields unless you can make plenty of it. The production levels of both the Reserve and the Premium are pathetically low. No wonder there is a need to make other wines.
The price movements and comparative values of both the Reserve and the Premium show that collectors are in tune to both the vagaries of the vintage and the cellaring potential. Prices generally start falling off after around 10-12 years of age. From an Australasian perspective only Felton Road’s exquisite Block 5 and Block 3 Pinot Noirs from Central Otago in New Zealand have the same cache as Bass Phillip. Indeed a confident market reflects a certain pride in the highly individual and often beautiful Bass Phillip Reserve and Premium Pinot Noirs. They sing so utterly of light and shade as much as they agonisingly flaw and triumph. Phillip Jones navigates periously close to the rocks. However a faith in terroir and a philosophy of following organic principles means accepting that nature will bring along challenges and differences each year.
BASS PHILLIP WINES Reserve Pinot Noir, Gippsland 2003
Bottle Last Sale Price $134 Last Sale Year 2005
BASS PHILLIP WINES Reserve Pinot Noir, Gippsland 2001
Bottle Last Sale Price $181 Last Sale Year 2005
BASS PHILLIP WINES Reserve Pinot Noir, Gippsland 2000
Bottle Last Sale Price $180 Last Sale Year 2006
BASS PHILLIP WINES Reserve Pinot Noir, Gippsland 2000
Magnum Last Sale Price $368 Last Sale Year 2005
BASS PHILLIP WINES Reserve Pinot Noir, Gippsland 1999
Bottle Last Sale Price $166 Last Sale Year 2005
BASS PHILLIP WINES Reserve Pinot Noir, Gippsland 1999
Magnum Last Sale Price $312 Last Sale Year 2005
BASS PHILLIP WINES Reserve Pinot Noir, Gippsland 1998
Half Bottle Last Sale Price $91 Last Sale Year 2004
BASS PHILLIP WINES Reserve Pinot Noir, Gippsland 1998
Bottle Last Sale Price $182 Last Sale Year 2006
BASS PHILLIP WINES Reserve Pinot Noir, Gippsland 1998
Magnum Last Sale Price $301 Last Sale Year 2005
BASS PHILLIP WINES Reserve Pinot Noir, Gippsland 1997
Bottle Last Sale Price $226 Last Sale Year 2005
BASS PHILLIP WINES Reserve Pinot Noir, Gippsland 1997
Magnum Last Sale Price $368 Last Sale Year 2005
BASS PHILLIP WINES Reserve Pinot Noir, Gippsland 1996
Bottle Last Sale Price $181 Last Sale Year 2005
BASS PHILLIP WINES Reserve Pinot Noir, Gippsland 1996
Magnum Last Sale Price $353 Last Sale Year 2004
BASS PHILLIP WINES Reserve Pinot Noir, Gippsland 1995
Bottle Last Sale Price $138 Last Sale Year 2005
BASS PHILLIP WINES Reserve Pinot Noir, Gippsland 1995
Magnum Last Sale Price $352 Last Sale Year 2004
BASS PHILLIP WINES Reserve Pinot Noir, Gippsland 1994
Bottle Last Sale Price $164 Last Sale Year 2005
BASS PHILLIP WINES Reserve Pinot Noir, Gippsland 1994
Magnum Last Sale Price $351 Last Sale Year 2003
BASS PHILLIP WINES Reserve Pinot Noir, Gippsland 1991
Bottle Last Sale Price $147 Last Sale Year 2005
BASS PHILLIP WINES Premium Pinot Noir, Gippsland 2003
Bottle Last Sale Price $84 Last Sale Year 2005
BASS PHILLIP WINES Premium Pinot Noir, Gippsland 2002
Bottle Last Sale Price $143 Last Sale Year 2005
BASS PHILLIP WINES Premium Pinot Noir, Gippsland 2001
Half Bottle Last Sale Price $60 Last Sale Year 2005
BASS PHILLIP WINES Premium Pinot Noir, Gippsland 2001
Bottle Last Sale Price $121 Last Sale Year 2005
BASS PHILLIP WINES Premium Pinot Noir, Gippsland 2001
Magnum Last Sale Price $233 Last Sale Year 2005
BASS PHILLIP WINES Premium Pinot Noir, Gippsland 2000
Half Bottle Last Sale Price $55 Last Sale Year 2005
BASS PHILLIP WINES Premium Pinot Noir, Gippsland 2000
Bottle Last Sale Price $110 Last Sale Year 2005
BASS PHILLIP WINES Premium Pinot Noir, Gippsland 2000
Magnum Last Sale Price $220 Last Sale Year 2005
BASS PHILLIP WINES Premium Pinot Noir, Gippsland 1999
Bottle Last Sale Price $107 Last Sale Year 2005
BASS PHILLIP WINES Premium Pinot Noir, Gippsland 1999
Magnum Last Sale Price $294 Last Sale Year 2005
BASS PHILLIP WINES Premium Pinot Noir, Gippsland 1998
Half Bottle Last Sale Price $52 Last Sale Year 2002
BASS PHILLIP WINES Premium Pinot Noir, Gippsland 1998
Bottle Last Sale Price $111 Last Sale Year 2006
BASS PHILLIP WINES Premium Pinot Noir, Gippsland 1998
Magnum Last Sale Price $173 Last Sale Year 2005
BASS PHILLIP WINES Premium Pinot Noir, Gippsland 1997
Half Bottle Last Sale Price $59 Last Sale Year 2005
BASS PHILLIP WINES Premium Pinot Noir, Gippsland 1997
Bottle Last Sale Price $104 Last Sale Year 2005
BASS PHILLIP WINES Premium Pinot Noir, Gippsland 1997
Magnum Last Sale Price $311 Last Sale Year 2003
BASS PHILLIP WINES Premium Pinot Noir, Gippsland 1996
Bottle Last Sale Price $87 Last Sale Year 2005
BASS PHILLIP WINES Premium Pinot Noir, Gippsland 1996
Magnum Last Sale Price $193 Last Sale Year 2005
BASS PHILLIP WINES Premium Pinot Noir, Gippsland 1995
Bottle Last Sale Price $82 Last Sale Year 2005
BASS PHILLIP WINES Premium Pinot Noir, Gippsland 1995
Magnum Last Sale Price $232 Last Sale Year 2005
BASS PHILLIP WINES Premium Pinot Noir, Gippsland 1994
Bottle Last Sale Price $101 Last Sale Year 2005
BASS PHILLIP WINES Premium Pinot Noir, Gippsland 1994
Magnum Last Sale Price $220 Last Sale Year 2005
BASS PHILLIP WINES Premium Pinot Noir, Gippsland 1993
Bottle Last Sale Price $119 Last Sale Year 2005
BASS PHILLIP WINES Premium Pinot Noir, Gippsland 1993
Magnum Last Sale Price $321 Last Sale Year 2003
BASS PHILLIP WINES Premium Pinot Noir, Gippsland 1992
Bottle Last Sale Price $101 Last Sale Year 2006
BASS PHILLIP WINES Premium Pinot Noir, Gippsland 1992
Magnum Last Sale Price $207 Last Sale Year 2006
BASS PHILLIP WINES Premium Pinot Noir, Gippsland 1991
Bottle Last Sale Price $137 Last Sale Year 2004
BASS PHILLIP WINES Premium Pinot Noir, Gippsland 1991
Magnum Last Sale Price $311 Last Sale Year 2003
BASS PHILLIP WINES Premium Pinot Noir, Gippsland 1990
Bottle Last Sale Price $120 Last Sale Year 2005
A version of this article was published by Australia Gourmet Traveller WINE Magazine in 2006.
Andrew Caillard MW
Langton’s
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