2022 Bass Phillip Premium Pinot Noir 3L Double Magnum

3L Double Magnum Bottle.

Overview

A rare 3L Double Magnum of Bass Phillip’s Premium Pinot Noir from Gippsland. 97pts by Halliday. The 2022 shows dark cherry, spice, fine tannins and fresh acidity, with strong ageing potential.

Vintage

2022 was a low-yielding vintage, with cool and wet conditions early in the season followed by warmer weather through summer and autumn. Pinot Noir from Leongatha South was hand picked from 24 to 31 March, with yields of just 2 tonnes per hectare.

Vineyard

Bass Phillip’s South Gippsland vineyards are farmed organically and biodynamically, without irrigation. The cool climate, regular rainfall and low yields support slow ripening and natural freshness.

Winemaking

Whole berries were transferred to open fermenters with minimal sulphur dioxide and fermented naturally. The wine was hand plunged, gently pressed and gravity-racked to barrel, where malolactic fermentation occurred naturally.

The Premium Pinot Noir is selected from the best barrels, with 36% new oak in 2022. It matured for 14 months before gravity racking, with no fining or filtration before bottling.

Producer Tasting Notes

Glace cherries and savory, dusty notes greet the nose initially but also showing hints of vanilla and spice; refined and poised at this stage but rest assured complexity will crescendo with time. The palate is svelte and satiny, lovely balance, resolved and complete with lovely length that will only get better with age.

Critic Reviews

97/100 — Jane Faulkner, Halliday Wine Companion
“rich, ripe, full-bodied and laden with aromas and flavours of dark cherries, florals, joss sticks, chinotto, baking spices and garrigue.”
Tasted 28 February 2024
Published 23 May 2024

Producer

Bass Phillip is a Gippsland producer known for Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, with a focus on low yields, natural fermentation and minimal-intervention winemaking.

Specifications

• Vintage: 2022
• Producer: Bass Phillip
• Country: Australia
• Region: Gippsland, Victoria
• Vineyard: Leongatha South
• Grape Variety: Pinot Noir
• Wine Style: Still Red Wine
• Sweetness: Dry
• Alcohol: 14.4%
• Viticulture: Organic and biodynamic; no irrigation
• Fermentation: Natural fermentation in open fermenters
• Maturation: 14 months in oak
• New Oak: 36%
• Production Attributes: Hand harvested, gravity handled, unfined and unfiltered
• Drinking Window: 2025–2036