Wine Region: Wine of Australia

(2025) Before I publish a review of a wine I also check to see who the current stockists are, and who has the best price. I was fascinated to see the customer reviews for this wine on the Waitrose site: almost equally split between 1 star reviews and 5 star reviews. Comments included: "Disgusting! I had to pour the whole bottle down the sink," to "An Outstanding Pinot Noir. Velvety and smooth, with delicious flavours." Was one right and one wrong? Well, I think this is a perfectly nice and quite typical Pinot with its pale colour, leafy and soft, pulpy red berry fruit and light mouthfeel. The opinions reinforce my belief that people used to drinking Argentine Malbec or Australian Shiraz will simply not get Pinot Noir made in this style; it's not for them. Is it for you? Well, it's an Australian brand that you may well find discounted in Waitrose or Sainsbury's, but will let you find out :) Watch the video for more information.

(2020) The 17 trees brand has partnered with not-for-profit organisation, Trillion Trees, to help rebuild the Australian bushland lost during the 2019-2020 bushfire season. Evert six bottles of 17 TREES sold will go towards planting one tree in Australia. Unfortunately I wasn't really taken by this wine, the nose rather stalky and green, the palate nicely fruited, but with a slightly harsh and astringent finish. I hope I am not being too harsh on this, but de Bortoli normally produces such highly drinkable wines from its Yarra Valley base, but this just didn't float my boat.

(2020) Part of a new range from de Bortoli, the name refers to the fact that part of the proceeds of sales of this 17 Trees range help fund a tree-planting programme aimed at rebuilding Australian bushland. I enjoyed this rather more than the Shiraz in the range, a nicely floral and peachy-fruit scented Pinot Grigio, with a juicy bite of crisp lemon and ripe, tropical melon on the palate. It's balanced and enjoyable, and a little bird tells me on sale with 25% off at the end of January 2021 if you want to take a note.