- Mornington Peninsula, VIC - $17-$35
- Cork
- 13.2%alc
As much as I appreciate the more traditional pinot noir/chardonnay (and of course, pinot meunier) sparkling combination, my eyes always light up a fraction when they see the words 'Blanc de Blancs'.
Quite unfortunately, Red Hill Estate's 2005 seems rather evolved, flat and lacking vitality throughout. Its nose echoes oyster shells, caramel and brioche in a strangely compelling, sweetish style, but it's the palate that has me wanting more, a lot more. Smooth and round yes, but it's about as loose as the elastic on an old pair of underpants. There's a trace of granny smith apple flavour in there, but I'm going to refer to Tim Cohen who had a similarly lackluster experience with a 2005 Blanc de Blanc here, because this wine is also dominated by a distasteful briney/salty aspect, with a speck of citric acidity barely evident for the optimistic explorers.
X I can only hope this was a bad bottle. In cases like this, I can only call it as I taste it, as I paid for it. I do note that the current 2006 vintage is $35 on the winery website, whilst I paid a mere $17 for this at old mate Man Durphy's... Drink now.
82 points
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