Best’s Great Western Young Vine Pinot Meunier 2023

We know what Best’s Old Vine Pinot Meunier can do. Give it 10, 20, 30 years and it will be a stunner. In the meantime, there is Best’s Young Vine Pinot Meunier to sate the appetite. There’s an intrinsic pepperiness to the 2023 vintage which is quite delightful, a real focus point for this drinker who loves a bit of pepperiness (but not too much) and the extra flavour appeal it can bring. Black pepper mingles with cherry, plum, cranberry, crushed leaf, dried herbs and spices as the wine works its way along a long line of fine tannin. This plummy, red fruited youngster has plenty of time up its sleeve, maybe not in the same realm as its Old Vine sibling, but it has immediate drinking enjoyment covered for now and over the next 8-10 years.