Paringa Estate Peninsula Pinot Noir 2005

Another cheap pinot, this time from the Mornington Peninsula.

The style of this wine is pretty oak-driven, which is no doubt a conscious decision, but that does challenge my notion of the sort of young pinot I'd like to drink. A relatively expressive nose of overripe strawberries and spices is followed by more of the same on the palate. But, for my taste, the fruit recedes too far, structurally, with the oak dominating rather than framing the pinot fruit's (attractive) character. Intensity of flavour was only moderate, an impression perhaps created due to the wine's structure (I kept wanting the fruit to creep forward just a bit more than it did). Over the evening, the wine did balance out a little, and developed some extra complexity, but was still pretty oakey.

I liked this a lot more than the Tamar Ridge from the other night, because its flavour profile struck me as more delicious, but I shall continue to search for an inexpensive pinot that suits my tastes.