CLICK HERE TO E-MAIL US YOUR TASTING NOTES OF ANY WINDY RIDGE WINE750ml bottle .. Feb 2002 .. Beautifully soft with complex flavours. Drink 2002 to 2005.
1990 PINOT NOIR (750 ml) (Graeme & Georgia Wilson: 5/6/98)
Good, dark brick red colour (no signs of colour loss at the edge of the glass).
Nose: spicy, black cherry;
Palate: Soft; full cherry fruit & developed "burgundy" flavours; long clean fruit, malt & fine tannic grip finish.
Great now ... will easily go another few years in bottle.
WINDY RIDGE WINERY 1991 PINOT NOIR
PRODUCTION NOTES: The grapes were picked on March 30, 1991: the crop was only one tonne from our
one hectare plot. The pinot noir fruit is now well integrated with oak flavours from
two years in French oak. The wine is medium brick-red in colour.
It exhibits rich cherry flavours on the palate, and finishes long and dry with well balanced,
clean fruit/acid. It is drinking very well now, and will continue to
soften and develop complexity with a year or two in the bottle.
Bottled October 20, 1996. Alcohol 12.9 %. Production: 32 dozen.
1991 PINOT NOIR (Tasted by Graeme & Georgia Wilson.) JULY 1998
Developed nose, light, soft palate with fruit & developed flavours;
clean dry finish. Great now ... SHOULD LAST ANOTHER YEAR OR TWO (DEPENDING ON CELLARING CONDITIONS).
WINDY RIDGE WINERY PINOT NOIR 1994.
REVIEW BY MARK SHIELD
(MELBOURNE "AGE" NEWSPAPER: 'UNCORKED' SUPPLEMENT: NOV. 25, 1997)
FOUR STARS ....... EQUAL TO SILVER MEDAL
Drink now, or cellar up to three years.
"There is an impressive depth of flavour in this South Gippsland pinot.
The colour is deep ruby and the nose has cherry and plum aromas.
The palate is generous, with sweet dark cherry flavours balanced by some drying tannins and impressive grip.
Food: Try it with a steak and kidney pie."
WINERY NOTES:
These grapes were picked on April 16, 1994. The wine spent over three years in old French oak
before bottling in May 1997. It is a huge Pinot Noir, with dark cherry colour and a rich
honey-cherry nose. The palate is intensely fruity and long, finishing dry yet round and clean with
plenty of acid and tannin to ensure a long cellar life.
THOMAS HARDY rates it a silver-medal standard wine, commenting on the flavours in the
strawberry-cherry spectrum, with attractive apricot kernel and hazelnut characters.
ROBERT HICKS says this wine ‘supports the ongoing association between South Gippsland
and Pinot Noir. While many top Australian Pinot Noirs rely on fruit complexes, South Gippsland
Pinots add a bigger and more extended structure to the complex fruit flavours.’
REVIEW BY GERRY PREWETT (OzWine tasting notes)
(August 10, 1997)
Windy Ridge Pinot Noir 1994.
A surprisingly deep blackcurrent colour with a little lightening at the
edges. Violets, black cherries and a slight woody
smokiness are the dominant aromas. There is no suggestion of an earthy
or gamey aroma here. There is a terrific amount of soft
sweet fruit which is gradually backed by fine chalky tannins filling out
the palate. The mouth feel of this wine is fine and velvety.
A wine which is both full bodied and elegant, it has good length and is
well structured. Whilst this is drinking well now an
additional 3 - 4 years cellaring should see it at its peak.
3 + 6 + 9 = 18
I drank it with a couple of wine orientated friends and we all thought it really excellent! There was a good Burgundian nose with quite a lot of 'rot' (which we politely call detrital) overlaid with rich red fruit. There was a very minerally edge to the nose that seemed to dissipate after a while in glass. Very elegant. It had evolved in colour into a kind of iron-red rusty centre with a pale pinky clear edge. The palate was true and followed the nose - minimal attack but a huge mid palate with gobs of red fruit. Maybe could have done with a bit more acid structure (?) but we were at odds over this. Very long and satisfying finish.
We wished we had a few more bottles for our cellars. Best regards, Michael Leuw, England
1995 WINDY RIDGE PINOT NOIR
Developing well ... complex, savoury, earthy nose; Palate showing savoury, spicy flavours, with a touch of raspberry flavour & oak. Still good to cellar for at least another few years.
Graeme & Georgia, 21/3/99.
1995 PINOT NOIR
RELEASED FEBRUARY 1998
BEST 1 OR 2 YEAR OLD PINOT NOIR: Korumburra 1996.
BRONZE MEDALS: Korumburra 1997, class 5;
Cowra 1997, class 55.
BEST PINOT NOIR (1995 OR OLDER)
KORUMBURRA WINE SHOW (FEB. 1998)
FOODS: crayfish or Morton Bay bugs & rich sauces; veal; rabbit; liver pate;
trout, tuna, salmon or soft cheese.
CELLAR: up to six years, or for drinking now with food.
SOLD OUT.
1996 PINOT NOIR
RELEASED NOVEMBER 1999
Soft cherry middle palate, with a clean acid finish with oak flavours.
DECEMBER 2001 (Graeme & Georgia Wilson)
Spectacular ... Full, rich, complex (developed 'Burgundian') nose;
Palate round & full with good fruit; finishes long & complex.
Should drink well to 2004 at least.
1997 PINOT NOIR
... RELEASED JUNE, 2000
BRONZE MEDAL: Cowra Show 1999, class 34.
SILVER MEDAL: Cowra Show 2000, class 42.
This wine was only half a point behind the top wine (also a silver), and ahead
of the other 18 entries in the Commercial section (class 42: Pinot Noir wines,
any
vintage, bottled & available for sale).
75 dozen bottles; 12 magnums; 1 Imperiale (3 litres) ...
12.6% alcohol.
35 months in new & old French oak.
Rich dark-cherry flavours with balanced oak. Will reward patient cellaring.
FOODS: Crayfish or Morton Bay bugs & rich sauces; trout; soft cheese.
CELLAR: up to six years, or for drinking now with food.
Review by Philip White, Adelaide "Advertiser" ... November 2000.
Dear Graeme and Georgia,
Given the cool nature of your location, I was surprised that your Windy Ridge Pinot Noir
1997 (84 points; 12.6 per cent alcohol; South Gippsland ) was after what I call "the shiraz style" of pinot, being more extracted and full-bodied, like some of the more seriously traditional Burgundian pinots.
(They put shiraz in all of them until about fifty years ago, as did the Bordelaise.
I suspect a little night syrah still goes through).
For some reason the cooler climate Australians seem determined to make them more simply,
like a strawberry fluffy duck, or like the Yarra Valley cordials. I don't mind your style at all,
and remind you that the average of the points in this class was 73/100. The bouquet smelt
leathery to me, perhaps a touch advanced, which again, is not a bad thing. I'm sure that
given the right size of wild duck cassoulet or confit the wine would be perfect: those hearty
tannins scream for softening and competitive tucker.
Keep the Faith!
(Graeme's footnotes: We do not add Shiraz (or anything else) to our estate grown
100% Windy Ridge Pinot Noirs; Pinot Noir wines needed 90 points to make Philip's Top 100.)
WINDY RIDGE WINERY 1988 CABERNET SAUVIGNON 100%
PRODUCTION NOTES: Bottled in February, 1996, this wine shows intense blackberry-raspberry on the
nose, followed by cool-climate fruit & subtle oak on the palate,
with a clean acid-tannin finish.
Alcohol: 11.0 %. Production 30 dozen.
1990 CABERNET SAUVIGNON & MALBEC
AWARD WINNER- BEST RED WINE, and GOLD AWARD, class 8;
Korumburra Show: Wine Section,
1997.
BRONZE AWARD: 1996 AUSTRALIAN SMALL WINEMAKERS SHOW
The cabernet sauvignon was picked on May 5, 1990, and the malbec between May 7
and 9. The crop amounted to 1.6 tonnes from our 0.5 hectare plot ...... (Bordeaux
'Grand Cru' vineyards typically crop 6.2 tonnes/hectare). The malbec was very ripe,
contributing a rich, smooth full-bodied middle palate fruit to the wine. The cabernet
sauvignon contributes black currant flavour and a penetrating berry-chocolate nose,
now well integrated with oak flavours from five years in French oak. The wine is a
deep crimson colour, and finishes very dry with long, well balanced, clean fruit, acid
and tannin. It is ideally suited now to rich, full flavoured dishes, or for long cellaring.
27% Malbec; Alcohol 12.7 %. Total production: 95 dozen bottles and 30 magnums.
BOTTLES SOLD OUT:
1.5 LITRE MAGNUM: $70 cellar door. ($80 boxed)
WINDY RIDGE CABERNET SAUVIGNON & MALBEC 1990 (G & G Wilson:2/6/98)
Dark black-red colour; Lifted Cab nose;
Palate: nutmeg, chocolate(after breathing), cassis (blackcurrant);
Dry, grippy finish ... still OK in bottle for several years; much better now than early last year.
1990 Magnum .. pickers' party, April 13,
2002:
Stunning ... Soft & smooth .. still
loads of flavour. Silky tannin & flavours on the finish. Drink 2002 to 2006.
1991 CABERNET SAUVIGNON & MALBEC
BRONZE AWARD: 1997 Korumburra Show Wine section, class 8.
86 dozen bottles & 26 magnums(1.5 litres).
12.6% alc/vol.
24% malbec:76% cabernet sauvignon
FOODS: Try it with any good steak dish, kangaroo, lamb, pork, venison, squab or
duckling. CELLAR: for five years or more.
The grapes for this wine were picked in the last week of April, 1991. The wine spent its first four
years in stainless steel, followed by twelve months in freshly shaved French oak and one year
in old French oak before bottling in May 1997. The colour is dark ruby-magenta, and the nose
herbaceous-chocolate, with berry fruit and oak. The rich, full, dusty fruit continues onto the
palate with a long fruit & fine tannin finish.
THOMAS HARDY, a Royal Melbourne Show wine judge, tasted the wine while preparing his
1997-1998 AUSTRALIAN WINE PICTORIAL ATLAS. He preferred it to our 1990 Cabernet
Sauvignon-Malbec which gained a gold award & trophy for the equal Best Red Wine in the 1997
Korumburra Show wine section. He commented in particular on the purple colour tones,
attractive herbaceous character on the nose with chocolate overtones. He found cherry & cassis
flavours on the palate with hazelnut on the finish. '...superb,...most impressed. Silver medal
quality.'
ROBERT HICKS, who talks wine on Melbourne radio 3AK (Sundays, 10am till noon) is also impressed with our
cabernets...'particularly the structure and lingering aftertaste that benefits from extra time in oak.
Very much in the style of the great traditional reds of Europe: particularly Barolo', Italy’s most
revered red, from the north-west.
BOTTLES SOLD OUT:
1.5 LITRE MAGNUM: $65 cellar door. ($75 boxed)
REVIEW by GERRY PREWETT (OzWine tasting notes)
(August 10, 1997)
Windy Ridge Cabernet Sauvignon Malbec 1991 ...
... this wine has a deep purple colour showing no real signs of age. Spice,
aniseed, berry fruits and vanilla aromas are all evident. It is
lush and soft in the mouth with intense blackberry flavours,
the depth of fruit really is impressive. The tannins are very fine and
powdery. This has tremendous length and good structure.
Whilst already 6 years old there is potential for this to improve in the
medium term, although it is delicious now!
3 + 6.5 + 9 = 18.5
1994 CABERNET SAUVIGNON & MALBEC
91% cab. sauv.; 9% malbec.
CELLAR: up to 2004.(Bottled June 1998)
33 dozen bottles...12.8% alc.
FOODS:Try it with steak, kangaroo, venison, veal, pork or duckling.
Aged four years in a mix of new American oak and old &/or reshaved French oak.
A rich, dark red wine with a full blackcurrant palate & a firm, clean finish.
1994 WINDY RIDGE CABERNET SAUVIGNON & MALBEC
"Real disappointed in this wine. It will not keep. I pull the
cork and it just disappears. Lovely stuff.....
Cheers, Geoff & Margaret. (November 29, 1998)
GEORGIA'S LIQUEUR PINOT NOIR (SHIRAZ 24%)
PRODUCTION NOTES: An elegant oak matured fortified wine made at Windy Ridge Winery from
1991 Windy Ridge Pinot Noir and 24% Murray River Valley Shiraz.
The wine shows a sweet cherry nose, typical of Windy Ridge Pinot Noir,
followed by light, clean cherry and blackcurrant on the palate.
The finish is long and fruity.
An excellent summertime drink with after-dinner fruit: try it slightly chilled!
Alcohol 18.0%. Production: 35 dozen bottles.
SOLD OUT
GRAEME'S 1986 WOOD AGED PORT (LATE BOTTLED VINTAGE PORT)
(SHIRAZ/MATARO)
PRODUCTION NOTES: Made at Windy Ridge from South Australian grapes, this Portuguese-style port
was first bottled in 1996 after 10 years in oak, and is now bottled periodically as stocks deplete. The nose in malty-spiritous, while
the mellow medium-sweet palate leads on to a clean, relatively dry finish.
Alcohol 18.0%. Production:100 dozen bottles.
[HOME] [WINES] [ORDER] [DATES] [GALLERIES] [HISTORY] [MAIL-LIST] [ASK-US]