I’ll be the first to admit I know next to nothing about Orange wines let alone Cooks Lot. I sincerely wish I knew more. What I do know is, it is cool climate viticulture just like Tassie! That would probably explain why there is Pinot Noir coming out of the area.
I have to say, this wine scared me when I opened it and tasted it. It was as lively as my six year old nephew after he’d eaten chocolate for lunch washed down with raspberry cordial! Full on, firing on all cylinders and holding nothing back.
I sat it in the ‘quiet corner’ of our pantry for roughly an hour and it changed dramatically. It was like it was previously experiencing bottle shock or just keen to get out of the bottle. I have no idea.
It settled down to be a lovely, tame, compliant wine in the end. It clearly needed that time to settle down.
It has all the red fruits you would expect from a young, cool climate pinot but there is also an added edge of spicy cherries. There is a softness (now) to this wine that hangs around on the palate too. Clearly the oak and tannins have been left in the ‘quiet corner’ after having made their contribution.
After all my doubts, it is a mighty good pinot at a mighty good price.
Region: Orange, NSW Price: $20 (2014 vintage) Source: Gift
Words from a Wine Glass 