Hesket Estate Macedon Ranges Pinot Noir 2019

Not to be confused with South Australia’s Hesketh Wine Company, Hesket is located in one of the highest (660 metres) and  coolest parts of the Macedon Ranges. With each vintage, its offerings become more refined, more articulate, especially the Pinot Noir. Love the darkness here, this is Pinot brooding and hidden in the forest with its bouquet of briar, forest floor, black cherry and all.

Strong featured, it’s in keeping with the Macedon Pinot personality which is grounded in solid fruit power – black berries, cherry, plum – and earthy spice with a touch of anise and red liquorice. Tannin is an exercise in control, oak (30% new) is nicely measured allowing the fruit the floor. There’s a decent push of flavour as the wine works its way to the finish. Attention to detail here makes it a stand-out.

Jeni Port

Wine critic at Winepilot

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.

Wine writer and critic