I’ve been trying to remember the last time I drank a wine as good as the one I had the other night.

I’d have to go back to 1988, if not before, to a 1982 Chateaux Margaux at a wine tasting in Gatehouse Cellars, South Melbourne. It had an intensity like blood and a perfume the perfumeries of Paris would die for….. just like the 2011 Bass Phillip Premium, Pinot Noir I had on Wednesday, a very generous offering from a business pal who has a renowned cellar. It was his last bottle. I hope he forgives me.

It was my first Bass Phillip wine, hopefully not the last. Eight years on it retained a youthful vigour while most Australian Pinots would, at best, be clinging on to middle age. The colour was bright, the nose divine and the mouth-filling intensity something to behold.

Clearly this wine was not an under $20 one.

These are the tasting notes from the winery:

‘Grippy, minerallic, enticing, spiced nose with integrated new oak and hints of power within. Floral notes: roses gentle, tangy plums dominate. The first impact on the palate is ‘complexity’: hard to identify specific fruits and herbs. they merge into a layered concoction which reveals different components with each sip. Strawberries and plums are vibrant but tightly packed within the subtle but firm acidity and the characteristic, astringent ‘dryness’ of this vintage. Lack of intense, sweet fruit is compensated by layered complexity and great texture.’

Apparently 2011 was a much-criticised vintage, but…. ‘low cropping has delivered a bundle of secondary characters which give the wine some character.’ So said Phillip Jones, the winemaker.

If that was a bad one, I can’t imagine how good a good one is.

After we’d said goodbye to the last drop we began on a 2010 Tignanello. (It wasn’t just the two of us by the way, my work partner was there, but fortunately she wasn’t drinking much – thank you T).

Tignanello, by Antinori, is what they call a Super Tuscan. Instead of being 100% Sangiovese it is a blend with 10% Cabernet Sauvignon and 5% Cabernet Franc. It helps. T

This was a very different wine. If the pinot was made of velvet, this was a carved marble column, strong, firm, elegant and occasionally beautiful. We all agreed it was on the young side, but it’s always better to go too early than too later.

I repeated the event the other night with a 2017 Farr Farrside Pinot Noir. A simpler wine than the Bass Phillip, but again proof that Australia has mastered the variety. We followed it with another Italian too, a 2013 Brunello from Baricci. I wish we’d decanted it for it kept some secrets like a clenched fist holding a gemstone – great though it was, you knew there was more there to give. Both came from Annandale Cellars, a truly amazing bottle shop. After that we had a Fantini Edizione, an odd wine made from five different varieties from various regions across Australia. Perhaps four would have been better. It was altogether too fruity.

All in all a great reminder that when it comes to a worthy red, pizza is your friend.