2022 Bass Phillip Reserve Pinot Noir 1.5L Magnum OWC

1.5L Magnum Bottle.

Original Wooden Case.

Overview

A rare Magnum of Bass Phillip’s Reserve Pinot Noir, selected from only five barrels from the best block at Leongatha South. 98pts by James Suckling and 97pts by Halliday. Deep dark fruit, fine tannins and layered spice give the wine substantial depth and 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. The Reserve fruit was hand picked from the premium blocks at Leongatha South on 31 March, with yields of just 2 tonnes per hectare.

Vineyard

The Reserve is selected from Bass Phillip’s best block at Leongatha South. Bass Phillip’s vineyards have been organic since 1993 and biodynamic since 2002, with no irrigation.

Winemaking

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

Only five barrels were selected for the 2022 Reserve, with 60% new oak. The wine matured for 14 months before gravity racking and was bottled without fining or filtration.

Producer Tasting Notes

A complex wine that evolves in the glass to reveal its multi layered personality. Oak plays a significant part in a respectful way, but the quality of the fruit reveals itself with time to become a bouquet of deep black cherry with notes of wood spice, cocoa, vanilla and nascent sweet compost. A silky, fine palate, still tightly wound with great depth and length of flavour. With time the palate will mollify and the flavours lengthen to provide a delicious treat.

Reviewed January 2023

Critic Reviews

98/100 — James Suckling, JamesSuckling.com
“Deeply perfumed and ethereal, with aromas of wild blackberries, boysenberries, dark cherries, spices, wet bark and citrus peel… layers of complexity that give a long, harmonious finish. Truly exceptional.”
Tasted November 2024

97/100 — Jane Faulkner, Halliday Wine Companion
“The Reserve is the pinnacle, a barrel selection with five making the cut… Full bodied, ripe, plump and velvety tannins with acidity in tow.”
Tasted 06 March 2024
Published 29 June 2024

95/100 — Huon Hooke, The Real Review
“A massive, powerful wine of tremendous concentration of flavour… The core of fruit is incredibly rich and profound, sweetly superripe and almost decadently sumptuous, the persistence impressive.”
Tasted 19 December 2023

Producer

Bass Phillip is a Gippsland producer known for Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, with organic and biodynamic viticulture, natural fermentation and minimal-intervention winemaking.

Specifications

• Vintage: 2022
• Producer: Bass Phillip
• Country: Australia
• Region: Gippsland, Victoria
• Vineyard: Leongatha South, best block
• Grape Variety: Pinot Noir
• Wine Style: Still Red Wine
• Alcohol: 14.6%
• Viticulture: Organic and biodynamic; no irrigation
• Harvest: 31 March 2022
• Fermentation: Natural fermentation in open fermenters
• Maturation: 14 months in oak
• New Oak: 60%
• Barrel Selection: 5 barrels
• Production Attributes: Hand harvested, gravity handled, unfined and unfiltered