The Big Red Book 2009/2010 - PINOT NOIR OF THE YEAR
You might have to hunt around for this, but they make a good amount of it, so with a bit of legwork you will find it. It’s worth the effort. Hoddles Creek is the little Yarra Valley winery that roared. Most years they make a pinot noir that is well worth $40, and yet they keep selling it for less than $20. This is a complex, stylish pinot noir that Australia should be proud of. It matures well in the cellar, too. Remarkable.

It ranks in the top three of Australia's best value pinot noirs - at least the 2004, 2005, 2006 and 2008 releases do. Franco D'Anna is a masterful winemaker.

Mattinson lives out in the sticks and hears a bit of 'Am I pretty enough?' action on his local radio. No one will ask any such question of this wine. It is light on its feet, dashingly beautiful, full of fresh, spicy, raspberried flavour and built to mature well over the next handful of years. Lovely flavour and acidity here - it's a spunk of a wine. Drink: 2011-2018; Price: $19. Alcohol: 13.2%. Seal: Screwcap. Value * * * * * Score: 94 Points; The Big Red Wine Book; Campbell Mattinson & Gary Walsh.

This wine did really well in the Big Red Wine Book 2009/10 - which I believe is set for release fairly shortly - and a few months later it seems a tighter, more controlled wine than it did back then. When you’ve gone hard (review-wise) it’s always good to taste the wine again some time later and have it shine all over again; it helps with sleeping. I’m posting this review but some of the words are Walsh’s (who is on leave right now). Light on its feet, and full of beauty. Fresh, spicy, raspberried flavour with lots of stern, controlling tannin. Built to mature well over the next handful of years, at least. Lovely flavour and acidity here. Some reductive elements, but in a positive way. Spunk of a wine. Rated : 94 Points Alcohol : 13.2% Price : $18.99 Closure : Screwcap Drink : 2011 - 2018 Campbell Mattinson; The Wine Front

We've waited two years to have the opportunity to again showcase what was previously one of the best kept secrets for Pinotphiles. In evaluating Hoddles 'number two' wine, Wickhams Road Yarra Valley Pinot Noir 2008 earlier this year I said "the one word that came to mind when I tried - ok, make that drank - this wine was 'pretty'. The big brother Hoddles Creek Yarra Valley Pinot Noir 2008 is not just pretty but downright stylish. Those looking for jammy, confected, heavier style Pinot need not apply. This is unashamedly unfiltered preserving pure and unadulterated Pinot characters and the acid - as ever - is played with perfection. I can't help but wonder that the forays to Burgundy for winemaker Franco D’Anna may be legitimate tax write-offs. Dare I say it, these guys continue to revolutionise sub-$20 Yarra Pinot but must contend with the fact that with this 2008, they have set the bar so high not even they may emulate this again. Now - 2016; Quality: Excellent BW; WineStar© April 2009

We hand-selected all of the grapes for this wine from the our own vineyard, which is in the Upper Yarra. The Upper Yarra is higher and cooler than Lower Yarra (Yarra Glen, Coldstream, Dixons Creek) and consequently retains more acid and flavours during the growing season. This region, has become famous for intensely-flavoured Pinot Noir grapes that produce wines with vibrant fruit character. The rows are orientated East-West to maximise sunlight, and planted on a steep hill. The pinot noir is trellised to Scott-Henry for greater exposure and less disease pressure. The site is planted to more than 5 clones of Pinot Noir for flavor complexity in the wine. The clones are MV6, 114, 115, GSV15 and MS1. We have chosen these clones for small, flavor-intense berries, looser clusters and colour intensity. Hoddles Creek Estate

In the context of often high prices in the Yarra Valley, these are all bargains...New wineries keep arriving in the Yarra Valley at much the same breathtaking rate as elsewhere in the country, but the beauty of the valley and its proximity to Melbourne is no greater guarantee of success than elsewhere. That said, two very different ventures (Hoddles Creek Estate) seem to have what it takes. James Halliday