Provenance Geelong Pinot Noir 2023

SPECIAL VALUE - From the Darriwill vineyard, planted in the Moorabool Valley in '98. A bright ruby red. Like last year's trio of Provenance's regional and single-vineyard pinots, this is both the most backward and structured of the three. They're all excellent and, if you can, it's really worth the time and effort to taste and compare them. This has dark fruits and more spice than floral notes while the palate is concentrated, structured, balanced and long. Built to go the distance. (96) PHILLIP RICH, James Halliday's Wine Companion

I don't know if there is a definitive style for Geelong? But this should be it… Lovely ripeness that pushes the fruit through to a darker realm, a touch of sucrosite to the mouthfeel. The tannins are more prominent here than the other two, but they serve to draw out the palate and extend the length, considerably. There is a nice, energetic kind of mid palate tension here which makes me think there is a lot of reserve in the tank. A little angular early on, air helps fatten it out, but time is going to be the friend of this. Lots to release from its current grip. Excellent and certainly more serious than the price tag suggests. ROSCOE