TN: 2016 By Farr Farrside Pinot Noir

By Farr was a find-of-the-year for me in 2019 with the Sangreal Vineyard pinot, and this is a lovely and worthy follow-up.

Beautiful use of partial whole cluster here, with the nose giving added weight to the delicate red fruit and bit of smoke from judicious oak. Nice gravelly/mineral quality, too. It drinks equally lithe and delicate, gliding effortlessly across the palate with beautiful acidity and just a hint of spicy wood on the finish. A touch meaty and wild as well.

To me, the hallmark of these wines are the absolute mastery of stems. Never so much that they dominate, but enough to add complexity and interest. This doesn’t quite reach the heights or depth of the Sangreal that shook my world some when I had it last year, but it is absolutely delicious and a Burgundy lover’s New World pinot expression.

Lovely wines from the Bellarine Penisinsula in Victoria. Gary Farr was a bit of a pioneer of the variety in Australia at Bannockburn and now he and his son are making some top notch examples. Thanks for the note. Reminds me that I need to revisit the wines.

I think they finally got representation in my market - lucky enough to be introduced to them by an Aussie somm friend.