Haddow and Dineen Private Universe Pinot Noir 2023

Producer Profile

I first came across the wines of Haddow and Dineen at the Israeli restaurant Ezra in Sydney. The food was superb and suited the wines perfectly. But what was immediately apparent, and these moments don’t happen that often, was that I had tasted Australia’s best Pinot Gris. Several vintages were on offer, from the great to the ordinary, all were tasting beautifully, though the 2019 was the greatest Pinot Gris that I have ever tasted from Australia. Period.

A collaboration between cheesemaker Nick Haddow and winemaker Jeremy Dineen, they also happen to make remarkable beer and cheese of course, which is absolutely next level. But for our purposes, lets stick to the wine. They’ve started with a tiny single vineyard in Yorktown, where they grow their Pinot Noir and Pinot Gris. They also manage a second vineyard, the source of Riesling and a little Pinot Noir. To complicate matters, there’s a shiraz, which I have not tasted. But watch this space, as I think Tasmanian Shiraz/Syrah is the next big thing in the Australian red wine landscape.

The Riesling is simply one of the island’s best. Serpentine in shape, dazzling in flavour, cutting in freshness and pillowed by a palate richness that I have not yet tasted in an Australian Riesling. The early years of Pinot Noir were good if unremarkable, a bit blocky and square for my liking with assertive drying tannins. The 2021 vintage is wonderful however, with brighter fruit and slicker tannins – a watermark wine. And then of course the Pinot Gris, not one of my more favoured varietals – until I tasted Haddow and Dineen. A wine of opulence, luxury and curves. Such shape, movement and flesh with the lithe energy of a newly signed footballer.