Bass Phillip
Bass Phillip has built an enviable reputation as one of Australia's finest producers of Pinot Noir. The Bass Phillip winery is situated in the cool climate of Leongatha in Gippsland, Victoria. Following in the great Burgundian tradition, where the terroir or earth charater of the vineyard is given individual expression in the wines, winemaker Phillip Jones has cultivated his terroir for more than 22 years to insure that his wines express the climate and soil.
Unique to his award winning style is the emphasis on dense plantings (9000 vines per ha versus a more typical 2000 vines per ha), no irrigation, intensive hand pruning to achieve low yields, and hand picking. Traditional, low technology methods also guide the winemaking process. Grapes are crushed by foot, additives are used minimally and, the wine is not filtered.
"Make no mistake about it...these are brilliant Pinot Noirs, undoubtedly the finest being produced in Australia."
Robert Parker, The Wine Advocate, May 2002