Fruit off the Leongatha vineyard, destemmed, wild-yeast fermented, left 2 weeks on skins and aged in French oak, 25% new, for 14 months. A selection of the best barrels was then put aside for the Estate. Striking aromatics set the scene: a heady mix of florals, forest floor, blood orange and spiced cherries. The palate unfurls with a core of sweet-savoury flavours from fruit and oak, fine tannins and everything superbly integrated and aligned. There’s complexity, detail and definition all in one. (JF)

Delicately spicy and multi-layered aroma, leaves, rosehip peel, light and dark wild berries, tobacco, sloe, juniper, morello cherry, dried herbs, dark chocolate. Impressive elegance on the palate, deep and densely woven, tightly woven tannin structure, fine, fresh acidity provides a cool aura to the juicy, present fruit, stands for the independent Pinot style in Australia.

For this reviewer's money, BP's Estate Pinot offers the best bang for buck. While still a special occasion wine, it's almost as gorgeous as its elder siblings, and crafted for drinking younger. Ironically, it's also the one that takes longest to open up. But when it does, it billows aromas of dried cranberry, cherry preserves, umami-like mushrooms, cocktail bitters and potpourri. The palate is silky with a lift of crystalline acidity, wound ultra fine, talc-like tannins. An iron fist in a velvet glove, this is long and elegant, able to age another 5-7 years but drinking beautifully right now.

The Estate is the third tier pinot from renowned Bass Phillip. The top tier Reserve Pinot typically fetches prices similar to the top Grand Cru Burgundy. Intensely aromatic spicy plum and black cherry are matched with graphite notes from the powdery tannins. On the palate, the intensity uncoils layered, elegant flavours that run into a long, persistent finish. The estate label is the best barrel selection of the Leongatha vineyard. It rested for 14 months in oak barrels, 22% of which were new. It is unfiltered and unfined at 13.9% alcohol. It was a star at the Vancouver International Wine Festival. (Brent Gushowaty).