Carlei Green Vineyards Cuvée Stephen Thomson Pinot Gris 2020
- 91
- $35
- Drink by: 2022-2026
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Sergio Carlei looks to the King Valley for his 2020 pinot gris release. It’s in a similar style to the previous 2019 sourced from the Cardinia Ranges, in that it employs a strong textural richness across the middle palate. It’s a real highlight of the wine, serving to emphasise the wine’s spiciness and overall warmth. Attractive, ripe baked apple (tarte tatin!), wild honey and citrus aromas bring the essence of the grape to the fore.
The tarte tatin mental image won’t go away. It’s still there to taste in a soft, buttery kind of flavour with almond meal delivered with apples and pears with a touch of vanilla spicing things up on the finish. I would happily drink a glass or two without food, such is the generosity and roundness on display. It’s fine just by itself, that way you get to enjoy the winemaking which is in tribute to a gentleman – “Thommo” – who once worked with Sergio. It’s a fine tribute.
Jeni Port is one of Australia’s top wine communicators. Based in Melbourne, Jeni created the first wine column in the (then) Sun News-Pictorial before moving over to The Age and becoming that paper’s longest-serving wine writer. Over the years she has written for most Australian wine magazines and these days calls WinePilot home. She is also a Tasting Panel member on the Halliday Wine Companion. She was named Wine Communicator of the Year and Legend of the Melbourne Food and Wine Festival in 2014 and in 2018 Legend of the Vine. She is a founding board member of Australian Women In Wine and is the co-deputy chair of Australia’s Wine List of the Year Awards and China’s Wine List of the Year Awards.
