Ghost Gum Southern Lights Pinot Noir 2023
- 95
- $90
- Drink by: 2025-2033
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Pinot Noir from the Mornington Peninsula is one of this country’s most exciting styles of red. Three blocks combined to provide the fruit for this wine, with a small portion of whole bunches included. Each component spent a year and a half maturing in French oak hogsheads, 20% of which were new, for ten months, before they were all blended. The colour here is quite a pale garnet which is fading further on the rim. This is a really exciting savoury style of Pinot, with some complexity already evident. There are notes of truffles, forest floor, root vegetables, leather, red fruits and delicatessen meats. While there is the appearance of subtlety and delicacy here, there is serious intensity and underlying power on the palate, with juicy acidity running the length. A Pinot of immense length, finishing with satiny tannins, this is delicious now but will really excite in six to eight years.
Ken was born and bred in Brisbane, Queensland. He had a non-trendy, perfectly happy childhood, in a family convinced alcohol meant instant condemnation to Hades. But a break fishing on the Great Barrier Reef, and some good wine, started a serious obsession that eventually took over. It did not stop Ken being chastised later for drinking Pol champagne, disgusted he’d drink anything made by a Cambodian dictator. Now, Ken mostly writes on wine, champagne and spirits for various newspapers, magazines and books, but is perhaps best known for his work in The Courier Mail. He also has a little sideline writing on cigars, fishing, travel and food. When not writing, fly-fishing for trout in NZ or bonefish on the flats of Cuba, travelling or smoking cigars, he is no doubt following a variety of sporting teams – the occasionally glorious Queensland Reds rugby, the dysfunctional Washington Redskins, the dodgy Arsenal and especially revels in the world restored to its proper axis with the return of the Ashes to their rightful home.
