95 points - "The 2023 Young Vine Pinot Meunier is all about red strawberry and cranberry, old rose petals, pink peppercorns and tobacco. It is earthy and yet fine, with a flow of tight-knit tannin that passes over the tongue and through into the long finish. The wine is all about Pink Lady apples and star anise, cinnamon and even grated nutmeg. It's a beautiful wine, super fine but long. We know that the Old Vine Pinot Meunier from this producer ages for decades and decades; this is the younger, brighter sibling, and I daresay it also has a future in front of it. To set the record straight, the vines are not all that "young," as they were planted in 1970. But I guess for a vineyard that was planted in 1868, 1970 must seem pretty young. As I mentioned in my Best's feature earlier in 2024, the vineyard is a national and global wine treasure—the vines are on their own roots and, as yet, unaffected by phylloxera. Long may that remain the case. In the meantime, it is possible to purchase and drink history as it happens, and I find that to be utterly exciting." - Erin Larkin (The Wine Advocate)

95 points - "We know what Best’s Old Vine Pinot Meunier can do. Give it 10, 20, 30 years and it will be a stunner. In the meantime, there is Best’s Young Vine Pinot Meunier to sate the appetite. There’s an intrinsic pepperiness to the 2023 vintage which is quite delightful, a real focus point for this drinker who loves a bit of pepperiness (but not too much) and the extra flavour appeal it can bring. Black pepper mingles with cherry, plum, cranberry, crushed leaf, dried herbs and spices as the wine works its way along a long line of fine tannin. This plummy, red-fruited youngster has plenty of time up its sleeve, maybe not in the same realm as its Old Vine sibling, but it has immediate drinking enjoyment covered for now and over the next 8-10 years." - Jeni Port (Wine Pilot)

94 points - "Excellent release. This is one of those 'light but insistent' wines that almost seems to defy logic. It's super slim and bony in its volume of flavour, with florals, twiggy spices, red cherry and pippy strawberry flavours shooting through the palate, but then when you swallow, the flavours continue on for longer than is reasonable, and to boot, they leave an impression that is far beyond their weight. It's like heavy footsteps being left on a beach by a featherweight. Needless to say, it's a beautiful drink." - Campbell Mattinson (Halliday Wine Companion)

94 points - "Best’s ‘young vine’ Pinot Meunier is from 1970 plantings. They do things differently at Best’s.

Length of flavour. This is a light-bodied wine but it has presence and it has excellent length. You have to be ‘into’ lightness to really enjoy this wine but if you are, then you will find the floral, red cherried, strawberried, twiggy-spice characters on offer here delightful. Personally I’d be into this anywhere, any time." - Campbell Mattinson (The Wine Front)

93 points - "A light and crystal bright ruby hue. Fragrant and pretty, aromas of raspberry, musk, and bresaola. palate sits light and airy with a delightful fresh red and blue fruit core. A dusting of crushed sage and pencil shavings add a deeper savoury note with fine, silken tannins guiding it. Finish is long and lifted with a light brush of acidity keeping it refreshing and more-ish." - Stuart Knox (The Real Review)

Generally used in sparkling wine production, Pinot Meunier is rarely made as a straight-table red wine. However, at Best's we have been producing small quantities of single-varietal red wines from Pinot Meunier since the 1960s, with the vineyards and wines gaining cult-like status (and loyal followers) along the way. This unique wine comes from our ‘Young Vine’ plantings of Pinot Meunier which were established in 1970- a century after our “old vine” plantings and grown from cuttings of those original vines.

TECHNICAL DETAILS:
Region: Great Western, Victoria
Grape Variety: Pinot Meunier
Alcohol: 13.0 %
Winemaker: Jacob Parton

TASTING NOTES
Colour : Medium red intensity with a ruby/garnet hue. Bouquet : A complex bouquet of crushed strawberries, cherry, spice, and dried herb.
Palate : A fresh vibrant palate filled with red berries, cherries, and orange peel. This wine is well balanced with fine tannins and crunchy acidity. Good to drink in the short term but it should age well for 7-15 years.
Vintage : Vintage 2023 began with a very wet spring. Rain and cool temperatures were the theme up until Christmas. Into the new year, the rain ceased, and some warmer weather followed. The 2023 vintage was long and late with the first Pinot Meunier grapes being harvested in Mid-March. This long cool vintage allowed fruit flavours to mature, while natural acidity was retained.

Our Winemaker Jacob's thoughts on the 'perfect pairing'...

Baked Figs with Blue Cheese:
Now I believe that baked figs with blue cheese works really well with the Young Vine Pinot Meunier because traditionally figs pair very well with other fruits, specifically citrus fruit. Pinot Meunier really expresses primary flavours of blood orange citrus, so that’s a really good pairing.

The blue cheese adds a lot of richness to the dish and the Pinot Meunier is naturally an acidic red variety. It just manages to cut through the richness with the acid keeping the pair, quite fresh and vibrant so you get like a rich, sweet, fig and cheese match with good citrus and acidity that creates the perfect pairing.