The magic Curly Flat Pinot Noir 2021 release

The number one role of wine is to be a delicious beverage. The end.

Yet so often, fancy wine ends lost in itself, trying to be a serious intellectual pursuit when it should just be delicious first and interesting second.

This new trio of Curly Flat Pinot Noir 2021 releases manages to do it – they’re principally lovely drinking wines, yet delivered with an unquestioned complexity (compete with a terroir-driven deep dive) that makes me happy.

That’s it. That’s the crunch point. I like tasting these wines, I like drinking them, and I like the uncompromising winemaking behind them.

And the 2021s are just delightful.

For a little background, Curly Flat is one of the largest producers (if not the largest) in the Macedon Ranges, with plantings at Lancefield that date back to 1992. Phillip Moraghan & Jeni Kolkka set up the now 14.5ha vineyard in 1992, with Matt Harrop coming on as winemaker in 2017 after Phillip sold his share. Pinot Noir, Chardonnay & Pinot Gris are the grapes here, but Pinot is the focus, with a multi-clonal mix for complexity.

What’s interesting about this 2021 vintage release of the Pinot Noir wines is how much higher the standard Curly Flat Pinot Noir 2021 flies. It’s more complete, with fewer holes, fewer rough edges, and more joy than either of the single-block wines. That isn’t how it normally pans out when the naked terroir expression of the single-block wines tends to dominate. This year, the Western & Central releases feel like the blending components that they are, with character and quality, yet lacking the x-factor of the near-perfect ‘standard’ Pinot Noir.

Stepping back, it also makes me happy that you can buy these wines for $62 direct from Curly Flat. That’s still plenty of money, but when 1er cru red Burgundy starts at $200, it looks awfully cheap (and they’re sealed with a screwcap so you can skip the cork lottery.)

Italics notes below are from Matt Harrop, the rest are my musings.

Curly Flat Pinot Noir 2021

From vines 20-29 years old. 9% whole bunches. 26% new oak, the rest two and three-year-old wood. 16 months in oak. pH 3.51, TA 6g/L.

What a joyous wine. The dense raspberry/plum with a little mint nose feels like essence-of-Pinot stuff. A serenade of Pinosity, with that vague mint/tomato juice Macedon label. Expressive, perfectly ripe – and I mean perfect, you don’t see sharp edges here – with this sort of purpleness and gloss that ultimately makes it even more seductive. Medium-bodied, fine tannins, the style more about fruit than structure (especially compared to the other two) with an extra sense of effortless perfection as a result. Man, what a wine. Best drinking: now, but no hurry. 19/20, 96/100. 13.5%, $62. Would I buy it? In a heartbeat.

Curly Flat Western Pinot Noir 2021

‘A small bottling from our western blocks. With their easterly aspect, these blocks have reduced exposure to the afternoon sun, making them our coolest. They contribute both delicate fragrance and supple texture to the Curly Flat blend’.

22-year-old vines. No new oak (mainly third fill). 14 months in wood. 18% whole bunch. pH 3.61, TA 5.8g/L.

This feels bonier yet warmer at the same time – a structural force yet missing a bit of generosity. Lucid freshness, but it’s firm, delicate and yet with raw edges to the tannins. Excellent expression and detail – it’s all laid out here, and the acidity is wonderful. Yet it feels a distant second behind the wonderful Curly Pinot with its more sullen mode. Best drinking: this will need a year or so to come together. 18.5/20, 94/100. 13.9%, $62. I’d drink the standard Pinot over this.

Curly Flat Central Pinot Noir 2021

‘A small bottling from the 1992 planting, our oldest vines. The central block, with its more northerly aspect, contributes both aromatics and detailed tannin to the Curly Flat blend’.

36% whole bunches. 40% new oak, 40% second fill. 14 months in wood. pH 3.52, TA 5.6g/L.

The sleeper of the bunch. Moody and whole bunchy. Clovey, whole bunchy nose too. It’s less pretty immediately, more bound in the mid-palate, with a sense of fireworks bubbling below the surface. I like it the least right now as it feels a bit too angular, and the tannins the rawest. A component wine, a backbone for the rest. Yet I can’t escape the sense that this could be magnificent in two or three years time when the tannins start to soften and lengthen. Best drinking: worth the wait. 18.5/20, 94/100+. 13.6%, $62. A bottle of this for the cellar, six of the Curly Flat Pinot Noir 2021 thanks.