FAMILY RESERVE Pinot Noir

92 POINTS, "Light in colour and showing some development. Aromas of bruised strawberry, cherry, rose petal, dried herbs and nutty oak. The palate is soft, round and creamy. Red fruits, spice and sweet oak are all doing their thing nicely. Supple, mouth-filling and drinking well."

The wines of Slow Wine Co are made from grapes from the Johnson family vineyard, Bantry Grove, which has been in the family since 1936 and lies to the south of the Orange wine region, on the rim of the Bathurst Valley. In the mid-1990s, the family tried a new venture on the property that originally ran sheep and cattle, planting just over 12 hectares of vines. It has paid handsome dividends because their wines are impressive, with quite a diverse portfolio – chardonnay, riesling, pinot gris, gewurztraminer, sauvignon blanc, rose, pinot noir and merlot, as well as a couple of blends. This is their flagship pinot and can be ordered online via their Millthorpe cellar door. Aromas of black cherry and dark chocolate, with an earthy char note as well. For a pinot this packs plenty of wallop – raspberry, dark cherry, plum and meaty charcuterie flavours, all in harmony. Aniseed too. It’s powerful and full, but, above all, it retains that essential silky elegance that good pinot demands. It finishes with a whiff of spice.

"From the Bantry Grove vineyard. It's not every estate that manages to cellar wines and release them in due course, but so is the practice of Slow Wine Co. Rhubarb and apple pie, salted plum and goji berry. The ferrous notes of iron and rust come through with a red brick mineral tone. Some savoury spice of cumin and paprika, too. Wine like this show its best when served alongside earthy root vegetables, mushroom and truffle, for example, a great excuse for an autumnal dinner perhaps."