42° South Pinot Noir 2007

Coal Valley, Tasmania, A$22.50, screwtop

A mate's visiting who's a bit of a Pinot fan and this bottle just happened to be sitting on the bookshelf calling to be drunk. We weren't rude enough to yell back, but instead calmly walked over and unscrewed the stelvin seal and finished the bottle. Forty-two degrees south refers to the latitude of Tasmania and also in this case the second label of Coal Valley Winery Frogmore Creek. 55% of the fruit for this comes from Campania and Richmond in southern Tasmania's Coal Valley, the rest from Relbia in northern Tassie. Ruby in colour this is pretty intense for a Pinot. The nose is just oozing red berries; it's a good old fashioned fruit orgy with red cherries, strawberries and raspberries all flashing their pink bits around. There's also a whiff of sweet spice, perhaps cinnamon and star anise. The palate is bright, fresh and packed with all the lush fruit we smelt on the nose. What I liked about this wine is that it not obviously sweet; sure it's fruity but it's not over the top and there's a beautiful creamy texture in the mouth. 42° South Pinot Noir 2007 is not the most complex wine in the world, but it still wins out for pure deliciousness; there's lots of enjoyment to be had here.

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