Dalrymple Pinot impresses

Few places in the world can produce genuinely spectacular Pinot Noir. You can put that down to a lack of sites with growing seasons long enough and cool enough to allow fruit to develop true expressions of the variety. Issues such as soil type, vineyard aspect, clonal selection, canopy management and crop load can also confound a hapless vigneron.

Having a mind-boggling array of winemaking options doesn't make the job any easier. You can spend a lifetime trying to develop a recipe for spectacular Pinot Noir, and still not manage to crack the code. Yet for all that, Tasmania is indeed on the way to achieving the wine world's Holy Grail.

Speaking at Friday evening's presentation of awards at the 2005 Tasmanian Wine Show, chairman of judges James Halliday observed that the 100 Pinot Noirs exhibited this year were the highlight of the event.

"As years go by, we're seeing increasing vine maturity and people becoming ever more comfortable with the winemaking options that exist for Pinot Noir. It's a good story now, but it's only going to get better over the next 10 - 15 years. Without doubt, Pinot Noir is THE variety for Tasmania," he added.

And Pinot Noir looks like being THE variety for northern Tasmania's 12ha Dalrymple Vineyard. The Pipers Brook-based company - owned and operated by Anne and Bertel Sundstrup and Jill Mitchell - practically scooped the pool in classes 17 and 18. Dalrymple Pinot Noirs were the highest pointed gold medal exhibits among both the 2003 and 2002 vintages, essentially giving them pre-eminence over 86 other Pinot Noir entries from across the State.

The 2002 Dalrymple Pinot Noir earned two trophies for its owners after it was named as Best Pinot Noir and Best Red Wine of the Show.

"It just goes to show what an old head on young legs can do," Halliday joked as Dalrymple's 74-year-old winemaker came forward to collect his awards.

Dr Sundstrup's victories mark the high point in what has been a challenging career for the former oncologist and head of Launceston's Holman Clinic. Entirely self-taught, he made his first wine in 1996. It was the worst season experienced in the State's recent viticultural history. Despite that, Sundstrup's Special Bin bottling was ranked third in a tasting of 48 Australian and New Zealand Pinot Noirs conducted by Winewise Magazine. Since then, he's acquired a reputation as one of the State's most capable and consistent producers of top quality Pinot Noir.

Among Dalrymple's achievements are a sizeable number of wine show medals, trophies and Top 100 ratings. 

The Tasmanian Wine Show's judging panel - featuring Halliday and respected Sydney-based critic Huon Hooke - is among the country's toughest when it comes to assessing premium and prestige Pinot Noir. 

There's no particular winemaking prescription for his successes, Sundstrup admits.

"Having a scientific background and being able to work things out from first principles has been a big advantage," he notes.

"I've also had a lot of help along the way. But it's basically a case of working with good grapes, and the grapes here have always been good. I've come to the conclusion that you can really only guide a grape through the process into wine. You can't doctor it. You can only try to produce the best raw materials that you can and trust that nothing goes wrong."

First published 26 January 2005: The Examiner