2017 Santolin: an exciting, handmade pinot noir

Eighteen months ago I was approached by a chap called Adrian Santolin from the Yarra Valley in Victoria, Australia. He wanted to send me some of his wines to taste and, as I taste anything and everything, of course I agreed.

I loved the wines instantly: tiny production, great value, handmade, accurate and delicious – all of the criteria I look for in exciting, modern wine. He had no representation in the UK though and so I couldn’t write up the wines – damn it! Fast forward to today and he has found a home at Oddbins. There were only 250 dozen of Cosa Nostra pinot made and it is epically pure and staggeringly sonorous.

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It is a smashing price and you will be certain to adore it, but I would advise that you move fast and clean out the shelves today. In addition, for those of you who want to graduate to Adrian’s upmarket pinot, then try the 2016 Santolin Gladysdale pinot noir (£24), also a tiny 250 dozen production. It uses 15% whole bunches and 100% French oak, of which 30% is new – this builds the nose and palate with intensity while maintaining its magical weight and thrilling perfume. There is a superb pinot gris and a couple of chardies in the Santolin family, too. Patience is a virtue in the wine business, but now that these wines have arrived, panic is, all of a sudden, a necessity.

2017 Santolin, Cosa Nostra Pinot Noir, Yarra Valley, Victoria, Australia £16.50, Oddbins.com

Matthew Jukes is a winner of the International Wine & Spirit Competition’s Communicator of the Year (MatthewJukes.com).

This article was originally published in MoneyWeek