Bass Phillip Pinot Noir Premium 2012

Premium sits in the middle of Bass Phillip's celebrated three-tier hierarchy — above Estate, just below the legendary Reserve — and draws from the very same source: the original 3.5-hectare vineyard Phillip Jones planted in Leongatha back in 1979, at an extraordinary density of 9,000 vines per hectare. Where Estate takes a broad selection of quality barrels, Premium is a tighter cut of the vintage's better lots, aged for a longer 18 months in French Allier barriques before release. The vineyard has been farmed organically since 1993 and biodynamically since 2002, with strictly no irrigation and minimal intervention throughout — a philosophy that has carried through the estate's 2020 change of ownership, with Jean-Marie Fourrier of Domaine Fourrier in Gevrey-Chambertin now overseeing winemaking. Robert Parker's Wine Advocate has called the range "undoubtedly the finest [Pinot Noir] being produced in Australia," and the Premium bottling has twice been ranked the #1 Gippsland Pinot of its vintage by critic Huon Hooke.

In the glass it shows real intensity: black cherry, ripe raspberry, and floral, gamey notes lead into a supple, elegant palate lifted by fine tannins and refreshing acidity, with dried spice, ground black pepper, and a savoury, mushroomy vineyard-floor character emerging alongside a subtle toasty oak. It's a step up in concentration and complexity from the Estate bottling while still retaining real freshness, with a long, lingering finish and genuine ageing potential over the next decade or more. Pour it with duck breast, venison, or a rich mushroom risotto; this is Bass Phillip's serious mid-tier statement, and for many collectors, the sweet spot in a range that's become one of the most sought-after in the Southern Hemisphere.