Latest Wine Reviews:

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Eastern Peake 2022 Intrinsic Pinot Noir

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Shanteh Wale - Wine Pilot - 97 Points

Vine material ranges from 30-40 years. All MV6 clone, grown on volcanic loam soils. 100% destemmed fruit to concrete fermenters, basket pressed to French barriques. I won’t lie in saying that I swore out loud on first impressions of this wine.  A bouquet of raspberries, rooibos tea, goji and rosehip. Dried gum leaf, bush tomato and paprika. There are Morello cherries, Davidson plum and carob. Plum pit on the middle palate that is swept up in the carrying acidity. Tannins are svelte like and yet still chewy. This is a stonkingly good wine. Amaretto sour, cherry bitters on the finish. It gives and gives! Drink now and put down 12 bottles if you can for another 8-15 years, watch it change and alter form, as you no doubt, you will too.

 

Huon Hooke - The Real Review - 96 points 

Medium-deep bright red-purple colour; red cherry, smoked charcuterie bouquet, the palate is intense and rich and fills the senses with a delicious fruit-sweet core, firm backbone, ample structure, line and length. Power and persistence here: an impressive pinot noir with delicious current drinkability and plenty of ageing potential. Superb pinot. 2024–2036.

 

Campbell Mattinson - Haliday Wine Companion - 96 points 

This is a statement of a wine. It's tight and generally coiled, but the power of the fruit is clear. It tastes of smoked meat and boysenberry, fresh red roses, cherries, red and black, and an assortment of florals. It's sweet and savoury, pretty and muscular at once. In short, this is a pinot noir to be reckoned with. 2024-2034

 

Mike Bennie - The Wine Front - 94+ Points

Last November Eastern Peake did a celebration for forty years of growing grapes and winemaking, opening up a slew of back vintage things and generally celebrating the nexus of vineyard, Trevor Mast’s original inputs, Norman Latta’s halcyon days and Owen Latta’s future-proofing and taking releases to an even higher quality. Shame to miss it; what a thing. A proper legacy winery that contains all the good and serious intent. The vineyard is now farmed organically and regeneratively, the wines, as for so long, wild fermented in concrete vats, matured in French oak, bottled unfiltered and unfined.

First opened and the wine is quite strict and tight, tense and nervy, flashes of greenery and alpine herbal elements, green olive, briny minerality with a back drop of plush red plum and sweet-sour red cherry. A bit of time later and the wine flips, an inverse kind of feel to that description, red fruits to the fore, a back drop of pleasing brambly, herbal lily. There’s licks of woody, sweet-nutty seasoning to bolster things, the wine just so in its balance and sense of fruit first, the rest later. Nicely played there. Tannins in a fine, light, crushed rock sheath, gentle but giving boundaries. Overall, it’s moreish and delicious. Fab. 2024 - 2038+

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Eastern Peake 2022 ‘Block 1989’ Pinot Noir

 

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Shanteh Wale - Wine Pilot - 98 Points

Sourced from the original 1989 plantings and a mix of MV6 and Morillon clones. Destemmed into concrete fermenters, basket pressed to barriques, mix of coopers. Here is where we see the brilliance of these two clones and old vines make fireworks of magic. Wild hibiscus, rose petal and ruby grapefruit skin. Persimmon and rhubarb, quince and strawberry gum. Pulled stringy bark, pine mushroom and paprika spice.  It resonates with red earth and Australian bush, intertwines natural languid acidity with silty tannins that slowly peter down the palate. There is a scattering of wild thyme and peppy leaf and black tea bitters on the finish. Its goosebumps and upstanding neck hairs, it's achingly delicious. It reminds once again why I am still baffled and in awe of this estate. Drink now and wil cellar well for another 8-10 years or more. Serve alongside Osso Bucco and risotto milanese.

 

 Campbell Mattinson - Haliday Wine Companion - 96 points

This is made from Eastern Peake's original plantings; 22 dozen released. Toasty oak sifts through a deep, powerful, complex palate. We're straight into undergrowth, satsuma plum, glossy red cherry and assorted twig and spice notes here, the flavours building towards a final, heady push through the dryness of the finish. It's thoroughly convincing. 2024-2033

 

Huon Hooke - The Real Review - 94 points 

Medium-deep ruby with a touch of purple in the bright rim; the bouquet is meaty. five-spiced, smoked charcuterie and the flavour is bright red cherry to raspberry with a tight, firm thread of tannin that provides an elegant backbone for the flavours, the aftertaste long-lasting and satisfying. 2024–2034

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Eastern Peake 2022 ‘Original Block’ Pinot Noir

 

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Huon Hooke - The Real Review - 96 points 

Deep-ish red with a good tint of purple and a meaty/smoky/charcuterie and five-spice bouquet. The wine is full and firmly structured with abundant dark cherry flavours and impressive richness/fleshy extract, powering on long into an extended finish. This has gravitas. An excellent pinot which will reward cellar time. 2025–2038

 

Campbell Mattinson - Haliday Wine Companion - 95 points

Sourced from the estate's 1983 plantings, with only one barrel produced (a mere 22 dozen released to the public). The linger of flavour here is excellent. This pinot noir puts some runs on the board and then some. It's an earthen, spicy, cherry-and-strawberry-accented wine, with cedarwood oak, mint and sweetly extravagant herb notes pulsing throughout. A wine of poise and silk, the flourish of the finish the absolute confirmation of its quality. 2025–2032

 

Shanteh Wale - Wine Pilot - 95 Points

Sourced from the original 1989 plantings, all MV6 clone, formerly known as the OB terroir bottling. 22 dozen produced. All destemmed and 12 months in barriques. Deeply pigmented, black cherry, pomegranate molasses and prune plums. Mulberry and black fig. Cocoa nib, coffee bean and nigella seed. There is plenty of concentration and granite like immovability to the bass tones. Acidity swells and tannins are richly interwoven into the wine already, providing solid foundations. A hint of blood plum and cassis to finish. This wine will age beautifully and I think not yet quite drinking at its peak. Cellar for another 2-3 years to begin to see where it can go. Drink with sauteed mushrooms and black pudding on toast. 

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Eastern Peake 2022 Intrinsic Chardonnay

 

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Shanteh Wale - Wine Pilot - 96 Points

There are not many Australian wines that draw a crowd of Sommeliers quite like the Intrinsic wines. These wines aged like a dream and have played an important role in my understanding of the utterly fascinating journey a wine goes through over time. Fruit source from the 1991 block of I10V5 chardonnay vines. Full malolactic and matured in French and Austrian oak Hogsheads. Jasmine and Frangipani blossom, wild white rose and freesia. Lemonade fruit, finger lime and white nectarine. A pineapple core of fruit surrounded by candied apples. There is an orange blossom honey note with pumice stone and quartz. The palate is dizzyingly alive with fruit weight, creamed butter and sesame. Thrilling acidity and almond praline. A lace of very fine oak tannins and dusty cinnamon. Impossible to put down. Drink now and will cellar well for 5-8 years. A sensational wine for lobster bisque.

 

Mike Bennie - The Wine Front  - 94 Points

Distinct personality to this wine, vivid in its authority of the variety and happy in its own lane. Love that. A smaller block of chardonnay from the estate.

It’s kinda pudgy and cuddly in a way, but cute, and seriously fresh feeling despite that! Go figure. Softness and a little chew of powdery crunch to the wine, honey, toasty notes, lemon bright and tart in the mix, saline notes, cashew nuts. A wink in the direction of Jura, perhaps. Lots of flavour, lots of character, so much enjoyment. Let the good times roll.

 

Erin Larkin - Robert Parker Wine Advocate - 94+ Points

The 2022 Intrinsic Chardonnay tends to give us a balanced view of both previous cuvées tasted today: the Two Mile Hill and the Griffins. This is concentrated and chalky like the Griffins and fine and floral like the Two Mile Hill. It's a juicy, modern style of Chardonnay with pronounced phenolics and long, lingering length. This is a pure wine, a very impressive wine, a powerful wine. It's awesome and refined. 13.2% alcohol, sealed under Diam and wax.

 

Campbell Mattinson - Haliday Wine Companion - 94 points

Owen Latta, the winemaker here, keeps his wines fresh, even as he serves them flavoursome. This is a fluid, juicy, sheeted-with-acidity white wine, and yet, it's also creamy and generous. It tastes of hay and lemon curd, stone fruit and apples, with nashi pear and nougat notes adding yet more. It feels harmonious now, but it feels in need of another year or two before it properly expands.

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Eastern Peake 2022 Two Mile Hill Chardonnay

 

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 Campbell Mattinson - Haliday Wine Companion - 95 points

There's richness here, there's intensity, and there's also character. Everything is coiled up tight in this wine, and yet everything tastes the goods. Flavours include custard apple, grilled peach, chalk and honeyed cedar, with ginger and brine characters thereabouts. It's a fascinating drink. Textural and flavoursome in a distinctive way.

 

Mike Bennie - The Wine Front  - 95 Points

The site was planted in 2017 with guidance then and ongoing from the Latta family of Eastern Peake and a mere seven kilometres down the road from the estate of EP. While younger vines, there’s intensity and interest here in spades.

The first thing that reveals itself is a distinct sense of balance, elegance, refinement. In that, scents of ripe apple, ginger, sea spray, almond, faint nougat and honeycomb. While this sounds richer and riper, it’s curiously crisp and chalky in the palate, exceptionally long, dense in flavour but with cut and thrust of acidity and minerality, in a general sense. Jura, a nod that way, once more from Eastern Peake, perhaps. Just so excellent to drink, overall.

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Shanteh Wale - Wine Pilot - 95 Points

Fruit source from the Two Mile Hill site planted in 2017. Full malolactic and matured in French and Austrian oak Hogsheads. Sunflower, marigold and pollen florals. Yellow peach, Meyer lemon and mango skin. Kumquat oil, baked pears and nutmeg. Turmeric, hazelnut and nougat. Acidity flows like a running stream with raw and just toasted bread dough, shortbread and cashew cream. Some savoury tones of dried hay and Lion's mane mushroom powder to round out the finish.  A meal of a wine full of pairing possibilities. Drink now and will cellar well for another 3-6 years. I’d go for an onion and leek tart with baked ghost cheese. 95 Points

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Erin Larkin - Robert Parker Wine Advocate - 94 Points

The 2022 Two Mile Hill Chardonnay is mineral and fleshy, with crushed oyster shell, brine, white peach, green apple skins, eucalyptus and open skies. The acidity is almost steely in the mouth and emphasizes the fine but firm phenolic structure. This is an exciting, racy sort of wine-subtly complex and nutty... super. It has crushed nuts, shaved fennel, matcha and a hint of salvia flower through the finish.

12.7% alcohol, sealed under Diam and wax.

 

 

Eastern Peake 2022 Griffins Road Chardonnay

 

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Erin Larkin - Robert Parker Wine Advocate - 95 Points

The The 2022 Griffins Road Chardonnay is floral and mineral; it's an exciting wine because it nails both languid and concentrated. It is calm, long and harmonious. It has notes of white peach, mandarin oil, lemon juice, pith and sourdough crust. The phenolics are chalky and subtly waxy in the mouth and insist on chew and movement. The acidity also plays an important role, in that it is juicy and plump and gently salivating. Good wine here, very good wine. It will only get better in time. 13.2% alcohol, sealed under Diam and wax.

 

Mike Bennie - The Wine Front  - 95 Points

A huge and complex history with this site, one that the Latta family oversees now, but basically there’s been longstanding vineyard and mixed agriculture here and proximate for a length of time that stretches back to the period of 1860-1880. Anyway, now a younger gen family owns this site and

Owen and co get involved in farming and winemaking. This, as per all Eastern Peake chardonnay, is whole bunch pressed, wild fermented, no filter/fining, minimal intervention to its path in glass.

It’s a success, and a wine of flavour, texture, concentration and vitality. Whiffs of green apple, sea spray, just-ripe pineapple a thing here in scent and flavour, fennel, marzipan, salted almonds, peanut brittle and bright lemon. The palate swishes with succulence and suppleness, a little crunch of acidity, brine is strong in the mineral department, ginger, apple, lime, more of that pineapple business, cashew to taste. Wonderful. Great all up, such an enjoyable drink and with such vim and vigour and interest. What ho!

 

Shanteh Wale - Wine Pilot - 94 Points

Fruit source from the 1995 planted vineyard by the late Pat Griffin, it’s lovely to see this vineyard back in Eastern Peake bottling repertoire. Full malolactic and matured in French and Austrian oak Hogsheads. A steely note to this wine followed by pomelo, winter melon and Bickfords lemon cordial. Raw candlenut, ginger and grated coconut. Hot sand and driftwood. There is plenty of energy and zing of acidity with a puckering note that lingers. A chew of freshly cut sugar cane and whipped meringue. I love the unique style of this wine, its racy but nutty, creamy but with a crunchy apple and citrus note. If you are not afraid of zippy acidity, this is a wild ride and one I am always up for! Drink now and will cellar for 3-5 years further. Drink alongside lemon sole fillets with Beurre Blanc.

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Eastern Peake 2022 Brut Nature Zero Dosage

 

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 Campbell Mattinson - Haliday Wine Companion - 95 points

There's richness here, there's intensity, and there's also character. Everything is coiled up tight in this wine, and yet everything tastes the goods. Flavours include custard apple, grilled peach, chalk and honeyed cedar, with ginger and brine characters thereabouts. It's a fascinating drink. Textural and flavoursome in a distinctive way.

 

 Ned Goodwin MW - 95 points

A meld of 2011 and ‘17 base years, this is superb domestic fizz,  reminiscent of top grower Champagne. Maker Owen Latta is a master of controlled oxidative handling and this gorgeous wine demonstrates his expertise. Scents of fresh tatami, dried mango, cheese cloth and acacia blossom run the scales of leesy breadth & dutiful acidity. Seldom do I dive back in for a second glass of Aussie fizz, but I could drink the entire bottle of this with little effort 

 

 

Mike Bennie - The Wine Front  - 94 Points

Quite an extraordinary vision to get to this wine. Wines from 2011 and 2017 were set aside and matured on lees before being assembled together in 2019, then rested for a further four years on lees. Very mature, oxidative, lees/yeast focussed wine. It feels quite low atmosphere and very vinous.

A distinct, savoury, generous and compelling sparkling wine. Offers up scents and flavours of ripe apple, lemon curd, cinnamon-honey toast, amontillado sherry, truffle and sweet citrus with flickers of saline minerality through it all. Succulent texture, quite rich, if not distinctly so, crackling edges of briny tang amongst softer, hazy apple juice and honeyed elements. A frothy fizz through it all, and I liked it just the same when it was kind of losing bubbles. Pretty amazing drinking.

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Eastern Peake 2022 Griffins Road Pinot Noir

 

Campbell Mattinson - Haliday Wine Companion - 94 points

The Latta family have worked with the nearby Griffin Road vineyard since the mid-'90s and indeed were instrumental in its original planting. The vineyard has changed ownership over the years, but it's now on a long-term lease to the Latta family again and has been converted to organic and regenerative farming as a result. The wine is pure pinot noir, all forest and undergrowth, meat and herbs, with game and merited cherry notes threaded with firm, rusty tannin. In short, complexity lives here.

 

 

Eastern Peake 2022 Walsh Block Pinot Noir

 

Campbell Mattinson - Haliday Wine Companion - 94 points

This wine brings both silk and an engaging freshness to the table. It also brings cedar-sawdust characters, which play well with tangy red cherry and cranberry flavours. Tannin is fine-grained, but it's the joyousness of this wine that gets you well and truly over the line.​​​​​​​

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