Punch Lance’s Vineyard Pinot Noir 2023

Written By Campbell Mattinson
review of Punch Lance’s Vineyard Pinot Noir 2023

Punch Lance’s Vineyard Pinot Noir 2023
$45, 12.5% alcohol, screwcap, Yarra Valley

This beautiful Pinot Noir from Punch in the Yarra Valley was grown on vines that were planted in 1976, 1998 and 2003. The fact that there were three plantings might make it sound as though there are a lot of vines in play here, but the truth is that this vineyard is still only two hectares in total. We’re talking boutique wine farming here. This 2023 release is a wine typical of the estate, in that it has a run of sap, forest berry and violet characters sitting in the centre of the palate, right there amid the mainstay of fresh, blue-red berry, gently jellied fruit. This wine is suggestive of undergrowth, and of twiggy herbs, in an inherent and/or unforced way. It carries fine-grained tannin, and a well-sustained finish. It’s absolutely delightful to drink now, but it will cellar. 94 points.

Campbell Mattinson

This post was written by Campbell Mattinson. Mattinson is a former chief editor of the Halliday Wine Companion book, former editor of Halliday magazine, former editor of Australian Sommelier Magazine and founder of The Winefront business. He is the author of five books on wine – four of which were bestsellers (The Wine Hunter, the Big Red Wine Book 2008, the Big Red Wine Book 2009, and the Big Red Wine Book 2010).

Mattinson is also the founder of the Mattinson Photography business.

Campbell Mattinson has been an independent journalist, wine critic and photographer for forty years. He’s the only Australian to have won the Australian Wine Communicator of the Year Award more than once. He’s a past winner of a Louis Roederer International Wine Media Award; is the author of the award-winning book The Wine Hunter; and is the author of the best-selling novel We Were Not Men. He’s also a winner of a St Kilda Film Festival Award (as writer-director) and is a former winner of the national Best Australian Sports Writing Award. In 2026 three of his photographs were short-listed for the World Food Photography Awards.

Campbell Mattinson, who is 100% independent, has tasted between 5000 and 10,000 wines each and every year for the past 25 years. He tastes blind, in comparative brackets, as often as is practicable.

Campbell Mattinson is a journalist, a photographer, a filmmaker and a wine critic. In all of these mediums his prime motive is to tell people's stories.

https://www.campbellmattinson.com
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