Ten Minutes by Tractor - The Estate

A Record of Consistent High Quality

GENERAL • RESTAURANT • PINOT NOIR

General

[Outstanding winery regularly producing wines of exemplary quality and typicity]
James Halliday, 2008/2009/2010/2011/2012 Australian Wine Companion
[Outstanding winery capable of producing wines of the highest calibre]
James Halliday, 2006/2007 Australian Wine Companion
The Mornington Peninsular is turning out to be quite a region for Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. Ten Minutes by Tractor’s wines are thrillingly good.
Jamie Goode, www.wineanorak.com/wineblog, January 2011
The wines from this estate have become classier and classier with each passing year. Indeed, it’s fast heading for elite status.
Campbell Mattinson & Gary Walsh, The Big Red Wine Book 2009/10, June 2009
A proven source of fine wine.
Jancis Robinson, www.jancisrobinson.com, 15 February 2008
The winery that impressed me most for the consistency and vibrancy of its wines across reds and whites was 10 Minutes by Tractor, an unforgettably named outfit in Mornington Peninsula just south of Melbourne that is gaining an increasing reputation for Pinots of all sorts (including Chardonnay) distinguished by excellent definition.
Jancis Robinson, www.jancisrobinson.com, 20 September 2006
At a recent Australian Wine Bureau tasting, I sampled excellent wines from half a dozen producers...including the incomparable Ten Minutes by Tractor.
Tim Atkin, The Observer Magazine, 6 November 2005
This has to be one of the cleverest pieces of marketing I have ever come across, the unforgettable name reinforced by superb graphics. But it also has a particularly clever business plan and some excellent wines to support the business.
James Halliday, 2003 Australian Wine Companion
Amusing name and sophisticated packaging links 3 family vyd's which are - yes, you've guessed. Sav Bl, Chard and Pinot N are all gd.
Hugh Johnson Pocket Wine Book 2005-2009
This is a deadly serious, highly sophisticated business, encompassing brilliant graphic design for its labels, high-quality vineyards, winemakers and wines and successful marketing.
James Halliday, The Weekend Australian, 13-14 April 2002

[Top]

Restaurant

Diners bubble with expectation for Stuart Bell's impressionistic creations and the restaurant's vast wine collection...the execution is exceedingly polished, coherent and aesthetic, with flavours elaborately deconstructed and every element carefully considered...the culinary adventures are guided by mastery, and solicitous service, ever reliable.
1 Hat
15.5/20, The Age Good Food Guide 2012, August 2011
One of nine regional Victorian 1 star restaurants.
An evergreen destination restaurant.
, 2012 Gourmet Traveller Australian Restaurant Guide, August 2011
Chef Stuart Bell's approach marries contemporary panache with European sensibilities...an impressive wine list is backed up by passionate advocacy and personable, attentive service.
1 Hat
15/20, The Age Good Food Guide 2011, August 2010
Top 10 Regional Victorian Restaurant and one of six regional Victorian 1 star restaurants.
Well cooked dishes with a penchant for local produce...well-focussed service and a well annotated wine list...keeps Ten Minutes By Tractor in the top branches of the Peninsula’s culinary tree.
, 2011 Gourmet Traveller Australian Restaurant Guide, August 2010
A very well composed and educational wine list from this Mornington Peninsula winery restaurant. The emphasis is on wines that inspire the wines they make and you'll find some good value closer to the top-end examples listed here.
, Gourmet Traveller Wine 2011 Wine List Of The Year, August 2011
It’s a real treat to find such a well composed list on the Mornington Peninsula. The wealth of information, the carefully selected wines and the way in which it is presented makes you want to drink well.
, Gourmet Traveller Wine 2010 Wine List Of The Year, August 2010
Top 10 Regional Victorian Restaurant and one of six regional Victorian 1 star restaurants.
A renovation has expanded Ten Minutes By Tractor’s dining room which is good news for those who’ve struggled to get a booking at this popular restaurant. A wide ranging wine list, combining Ten Minutes’ own output with benchmark wines of the world, is part of the attraction, as is the efficient service. But it is Stuart Bell’s cooking that really draws the crowd...and make this a great place, in a gorgeous setting, to sample the Mornington Peninsula’s finest.
, 2010 Gourmet Traveller Australian Restaurant Guide, August 2009
Not your typical winery-restaurant, Ten Minutes by Tractor stands out among its Mornington Peninsula competition courtesy of a smart dining room fitout, a risk averse but snappy menu and an innovative wine list that doesn’t push its own barrow alone...polished service—all too often a rarity in these parts—completes a winning package.
14.5/20, The Age Good Food Guide 2010, August 2009
Best Restaurant in a Winery—Mornington Peninsula
Finalist Victorian State Awards
Restaurant & Catering Victoria 2009 Awards for Excellence
This is as much a wine guide as a list, packed with plenty of useful information. We love it, and we love the compelling collection of regional offerings as well as the fabulous selection of Burgundy that puts them into context.
, Gourmet Traveller Wine List Of The Year 2009, August 2009
Ten Minutes is part of a new generation of cellar door-cum-restaurants where wine and food have equal billing, and diners are the winners.
14/20, 2009 Age Good Food Guide, August 2008
Best Short Wine List
2009 Age Good Food Guide, August 2008
This list just seems to keep on keeping on with new and exciting wines at almost every turn of the page.
, Gourmet Traveller Wine List Of The Year 2008, August 2008
The excitement levels have lifted with the food…sharp service and hospitable attitude help make Ten Minutes a contender for the Peninsula’s best.
Gourmet Traveller 2009 Australian Restaurant Guide, August 2008
This is now one of the Peninsula’s leading wineries; the wines - especially the single vineyard chardonnays - are sensational; the Ten Minutes by Tractor is one of the most popular places now because this is the new generation of cellar doors-cum-restaurants where wine and food have equal billing. Ten Minutes by Tractor is a top restaurant, not just a great cellar door.
14/20, Age Epicure, 21 January 2008
This is now one of the Peninsula’s leading wineries; the wines - especially the single vineyard chardonnays - are sensational; the small but superb restaurant…is one of the region’s must-visit destinations.
Max Allen, Australian Gourmet Traveller, December 2007
Gourmet Traveller 2008 Australian Wine List of the Year
As well as the winery’s offerings, this superbly designed document contains a mouthwatering selection of the world’s best bottles and a staggering amount of background reading.
This new operation is the best gastronomic outpost to have opened on the Mornington Peninsula in a long time.
Gourmet Traveller 2008 Australian Restaurant Guide

Pinot Noir

2009 McCutcheon Pinot Noir

The story of this wine is texture. It has the sliding effortlessness through the mouth of all very good wines, with no jarring edges. Caressing, yet authoritative, with balance. A classy wine. Drink 2012+.
94, Grant Dodd, www.grantdoddwine.blogspot.com, 7 August 2011
Light red; there are distinct spicy savoury elements from the word go in this wine; it has a wiry, masculine strength and focus, yet avoids any bitterness, and has a very long, fine palate. Utterly different to the Estate. Drink to 2017.
95, James Halliday, 2012 Australian Wine Companion, 1 August 2011

2009 Estate Pinot Noir

A step up in quality here. The length and linear shape of it speak of a classier wine. Lovely flow across the palate, and the balance of tannin and acidity seems spot on. Drink 2012+.
92, Grant Dodd, www.grantdoddwine.blogspot.com, 7 August 2011
Light, clear purple-red; a fragrant, upfront bouquet of plum and black cherry, the palate a bright and fresh reprise of the bouquet, with sunny, supple fruit and soft, fine tannins, oak in the background. Drink to 2017.
94, James Halliday, 2012 Australian Wine Companion, 1 August 2011

2010 10X Pinot Noir

This entry level wine does its job well. Definitively Pinot; cherry fruit driven with elements of spice. More front palate intensity than back but holds its form pretty well. Drink 2011+.
Grant Dodd, www.grantdoddwine.blogspot.com, 7 August 2011

2009 10X Pinot Noir

There’s plenty to love about this great-value fruit-driven pinot from Victoria. Sourced from a number of Mornington Peninsula sub-regions, 10X oozes smells of dark red fruits and sweet spices, while in your mouth there’s no shortage of fleshy pinot fruit, fine grippy tannin, and a long, balanced end. Drink it with Chinese roast duck.
Matt Skinner, The Age Sunday Life, 13 February 2011
Excellent depth of colour; the bouquet has that X factor of top pinot, with complex plum, spice and calibrated oak, the palate picking up precisely where it should, reinforcing the complexity of a truly delicious pinot, retaining finesse and elegance in the midst of the candy store of flavours. Drink: now-2020 with duck breast.
97, James Halliday, James Halliday's Top 100, Weekend Australian Magazine, 13-14 November 2010
With more structure and tannin than Red Claw and others, this is a more forceful character in its youth and the tight finish suggests that you should stick to carnivorous fare in order to satiate your desires. Those of you who are able to exercise some self-control should keep their hands off this wine for two years and allow it to evolve into what will inevitably be a spectacular glass of rouge.
Matthew Jukes, Wine Rules 2010, September 2010

2008 Judd Vineyard Pinot Noir

Judd Vineyard is the winery’s ‘oldest, highest and steepest’ vineyard. It’s wild yeast fermented and left on its skins for 18 days. It spends 15 months in French oak barriques. It’s light and pretty but it has excellent complexity of flavour and fantastic length. It’s a style of pinot noir entirely worth supporting/celebrating. It tastes of strawberries and dried herbs, twigs and fresh, sour-sweet cherries. Maybe cranberry is a better description. There’s fruit/oak/stalk spice too. The flavour lingers wonderfully. And there’s enough tannin to keep it firm. It should age very gracefully. Drink : 2013 - 2017
94, Campbell Mattinson, Winefront, February 2011
All three single vineyard pinots share a light but brilliantly clear colour, this with marginally more purple; a graceful and fluid palate of ripe plum fruit and a lingering finish and aftertaste. Drink 2015.
94, James Halliday, 2011 Australian Wine Companion

2008 McCutcheon Vineyard Pinot Noir

Continues the impressive line of wines from this producer. Medium body, with sour cherry, rose petal and savoury overtones. It's nicely balanced, with good acidity and fine tannins. The supple balance is very appealing and the wine has deceptively good weight.
93, Nick Bulleid, Gourmet Traveller Wine, April/May 2011
Another stunning single-vineyard pinot from this outstanding Mornington Peninsula producer. The McCutcheon site is always a strong performer, its wines wonderfully perfumed with an earthy core. Plenty going on with a spicy bouquet, some sweetish dark, cherry and plum fruit plus lovely rhubarb tartness, subtle oak integration and astonishingly silky tannins. An elegant, even contemplative wine that’s more than a match to duck or pork dishes.
Jane Faulkner, The Age, 22 January 2011
The McCutcheon Vineyard was planted to pinot noir in 1993, using the MV6 clone. The grapes are hand-harvested and wild yeast fermented. This wine spends 15 months in oak. Characterised by its tannin. This is a tight, dry, grainy wine. If it unfurls it will be brilliant; if the tannin takes over it will always be slightly disappointing. It otherwise tastes of smoky oak and cherry-plummed fruit, with lots of twiggy character through the finish/aftertaste. I’m betting in its favour, but it will need to be watched. Drink: 2012-16
93, Campbell Mattinson, Winefront, October 2010
Has a fragrant bouquet, then a light-bodied but intense and long palate achieved with apparent ease, here with a slightly more savoury, foresty cast redeemed by the slippery, red-fruited finish. Drink 2014.
94, James Halliday, 2011 Australian Wine Companion

2008 Wallis Vineyard Pinot Noir

A complex, savoury pinot which will possibly improve with time. It has lots of personality, with density and fleshiness on the palate. The savoury bouquet has aspects of oak and fresh-turned earth.
92, Huon Hooke, Gourmet Traveller Wine, April/May 2011
Impressive definition and detail from this cooler elevated location offering lively red fruit aromas and gentle spice. The palate builds superbly with lithe and juicy tannins, finishing with fresh-spiced strawberry flavour.
93, Nick Stock, Wine 100, March/April 2011
The Wallis Vineyard was planted in 1995 on the southern slopes of Main Ridge. It’s wild-yeast, small-batch fermented – it spends 18 days on skins – before going into all-French oak for 18 months. Light in colour but strong in flavour and tannin. This is a stern, dry style of pinot noir. It tastes of stems, asparagus, warm red cherries and clear, fresh cedarwood. It suggests at bitterness on the finish, in a positive way. It’s taut and lengthy, but on the warm side alcohol-wise. It will be interested to taste what time makes of this. Drink: 2011-16
92+, Campbell Mattinson, Winefront, October 2010
Bright and clear colour; the bouquet has a little more spice than the other two single vineyard pinots, the palate particularly elegant and long, with a silky mouthfeel to its lively red fruits. Drink 2015.
95, James Halliday, 2011 Australian Wine Companion

2008 10X Pinot Noir

I was talking about ‘bitterness’ in wine with some folks on the weekend – when someone said, ‘Now that I drink a lot more coffee, I’m a lot more partial to bitterness in both food and wine’. I thought, hel-bloody-luljah. Greenness is almost never a good thing, but bitterness (in the context of ripeness) is the next big frontier for fine Australian wine. I was reminded of this because this wine is quite bitter. It has bright, attractive, sweet-sour cherry fruit flavour but a hazelnut-like bitterness swings authoritatively through the finish. It’s dry and quite lengthy, tannic but not excessively so. It’s a boney, bitter wine and I enjoyed spending time with it quite a bit. It needs a bit more flesh, but its style is excellent. Drink: 2010-14
91, Campbell Mattinson, Winefront, October 2010
All too often the term "elegant" is abused by wine writers and substituted for "light". This wine is elegant in the true sense. It is finely structured, delivers an almost ethereal bouquet, has a silky texture and finishes long, but it is in no way a big purple coloured pinot. Bravo!
Outstanding, Winewise, December 2009
This is a blend of three vineyards and has a really handy array of pinot noir fruit characters and enough subtle complexity to make it genuinely compelling. Bright dark cherry and plum fruits, some spice and the beginnings of undergrowthy complexity. The palate holds plenty of flavour and has an understated length, really even and true, placing musky cherry and plum flavour deep through the finish. Pure and convincing.
93, Nick Stock, 2010 Penguin Good Australian Wine Guide
Watch this space: Ten Minutes By Tractor is a producer to look out for. Attractive dark cherry fruit presents ripe, pure and bright, the palate rolls smoothly through on fine-textured tannins holding plenty of rich cherry and plum flavour. Terrific value here, it outclasses many of the region's more expensive Pinots.
93, Nick Stock, Wine 100, August 2009

2008 X Pinot Noir

This does taste of Burgundian clones. Very correct nose and great freshness even if no great intensity. Genuine rather than tarted up. A good introduction to the Mornington Peninsula south of Melbourne. Drink 2009-10.
16.0, Jancis Robinson, November 2009
Terrific to see pinot of this quality being dished out at this price point - it really offers immense value. Mornington Peninsula dark cherry fruits and gentle spice here too, a light, fragrant lift, musky perfume. The palate is evenly shaped and offers direct, clear cherry flavour amid fine, smooth tannins, finishing with polish and balance.
91, Nick Stock, 2010 Penguin Good Australian Wine Guide

2007 Judd Vineyard Pinot Noir

Displays abundant fresh complex cherry aromas supported by the clever use of stems. It's intense, complex and savoury, with the bonus of classy oak.
Outstanding, Winewise, December 2009
This Judd Vineyard pinot noir by Ten Minutes by Tractor was cropped at 475kg per acre. No wonder it’s expensive. Though the quality is spot on. Complexity, texture, length and personality. Lovely ropes of tannin too. Dark cherries, cedarwood, sap and smoked meats. Just to be clear: there is no sign of any smoke taint here. It’s all about purity and length, brightness of flavour and seduction. Throw in some cloves and nutmeg too. There’s a lot going on though it had me on the mouthfeel of it.
95, Campbell Mattinson, Winefront
Has plenty of richness, concentration and length, black cherry flavour building through to the back palate and finish. Drink to 2014.
94, James Halliday, 2010 Australian Wine Companion
Rich black cherry notes – very opulent for a Mornington Peninsula Pinot – perhaps just slightly too ripe? Drink 2009-12
16.5, Jancis Robinson, www.jancisrobinson.com, 5 March 2009

2007 McCutcheon Vineyard Pinot Noir

I’m slow to get onto this McCutcheon Vineyard Pinot Noir too – though it’s pretty good clobber. Lovely tautness to this wine. Indeed it’s immaculately made. It tastes of rhubarb, various spices, eucalypt and both sweet and sour cherry. Complexity is not an issue; it has it in spades. There’s a smoky oakiness on the finish and lots of refreshing acidity. For the most part, I loved drinking this wine. The only issue I had was whether or not the fruit carries through sufficiently on the finish. Drink: 2012 - 2017.
92+, Campbell Mattinson, Winefront, 20 October 2010
This has a forest berry smell to it, with flinty smokiness and mintiness too. There's plenty of tangy, pippy fruit on the palate, and powerful chewy tannins that pull everything together. This is serious, structured pinot.
Tim White, The Age Melbourne Magazine, February 2010
Lovely, complex fragrance and lift here; the oak is making a bigger statement than the regular 10X pinot and the fruit has the frame to carry it. Bright, spicy fragrance, plenty of mixed berry and cherry fruits and a musky, ethereal perfume. The palate has a fine and even shape, really hearty in an elegantly structured package; the detail is legible and tannins twirl smoothly from front to back. Excellent pinot with distinctive, complex character.
96, Nick Stock, 2010 Penguin Good Australian Wine Guide
Mid red purple; fragrant, with some slightly sappy nuances to add interest, a counterpoint to the small red fruits of the mid palate. Drink to 2014.
94, James Halliday, 2010 Australian Wine Companion

2007 Wallis Vineyard Pinot Noir

Good Pinot fragrance, with attractively rich and concentrated berry fruit. Very nice red-fruit intensity with power, flavour and structure.
4 stars, Decanter, March 2010
Top Aussie Red. This maker's style is pale-coloured, light-bodied and delicate, with great perfume and subtlety. Good intensity and drive; linear yet long and well concentrated. Don't look for dark coloured, big juicy pinot here. It's all about finesse rather than size.
93, Huon Hooke, Sydney Morning Herald Good Living, 16 February 2010
The Wallis is one of three special vineyards owned by this label. The pinot noir is excellent with its enticing aromatics and sweetish cherry fruit on the palate, tempered by savoury, spicy notes. It builds and plumps out with loads of juicy fruit and subtle oak, all supported by supple, fine tannins. A moreish, balanced wine. Great drinking now or for short term cellaring.
Jane Faulkner, The Age A2/Sydney Morning Herald Life, 9 January 2010
A much darker colour than the sibling single-vineyard wines, the Wallis is a more powerful and savoury rendition, boasting ripe dark cherry fruits and gentle, foresty complexity. The palate is muscular and convincing, really assertive and direct, placing plenty of flavour straight down the middle - this has a promising few years development and will be fascinating to track. Terrific wine, weighty and rich.
95, Nick Stock, 2010 Penguin Good Australian Wine Guide
Distinctly darker hue than Judd or McCutcheon; as the colour suggests, stronger dark fruit flavours run through the palate, which has good balance. Will repay cellaring. Drink to 2016.
95, James Halliday, 2010 Australian Wine Companion

2007 10X Pinot Noir

Great colour; a great example of grace and power; fine cherry, plum and a touch of game on the bouquet; the palate builds from start to finish, with fine and precise fruit, framed by complex aromas and flavours that will gather momentum over the next few years; long, luscious and showing velvet-like quality on the finish. Drink to 2015.
96, James Halliday, 2010 Australian Wine Companion
100 Best Australian Wines 2009
With showy (almost slutty) fruit intensity and a 'near-Barbera-like' palate, 10X is about as boisterous and marauding as this variety has ever been. Welcome this frat-house Pinot with open arms though, as long as you invite its sage uncle, 2006 McCutcheon Vineyard Pinot Noir as a chaperone. You will then see that TMBT has got all of the bases covered for this awesome grape.
Matthew Jukes, www.matthewjukes.com, June 2009
50 Greatest New World Pinot Noirs
Tractor’s baby Pinot is chunky, bold and dark and is a joy to drink even though it is a little like a headstrong teenager on a Friday night jamboree. Now-2012.
17, Matthew Jukes, Decanter, June 2009
There's a smoky character to this that is most appealing as a young wine. Indeed, despite what was generally regarded as a “challenging” vintage in these parts, this has turned out bonza, with lots of tangy flavour and juicy, satisfying length. We couldn't stop smacking our lips together after each gulp - the wine almost demands you do it. Barbecued pork would be great with it. Drink 2009-11.
91, Campbell Mattinson & Gary Walsh, The Big Red Wine Book 2009/10, June 2009
Ten Minutes By Tractor's quality focus has made it one of the Mornington Peninsula's best chardonnay and pinot noir producers. This pinot has cherry liqueur, spice and undergrowth aromas, with a whisper of oak skilfully applied. There's succulent, fresh flavour and a finely textured palate, tangy acidity and a long finish.
4.5 stars, Ralph Kyte–Powell, The Age Epicure, 27 January 2009

2007 X Pinot Noir

Showing a little spice and stem, with the primary fruit taking a back seat to earthy, slightly undergrowth tones; the palate is ample, fine and shows plenty of personality. Drink to 2013.
90, James Halliday, 2010 Australian Wine Companion
If you like to have an everyday pinot at hand, this would make for an awesome choice. It's fragrant, fruity and complex - Mattinson in particular was beguiled by it. Beetroot, herbs, cherries and cedarwood, its sweet-sour action tamed by perfectly round tannins. Right out of the box, this one - and ready to be opened and enjoyed right now. Drink 2009-12.
92, Campbell Mattinson & Gary Walsh, The Big Red Wine Book 2009/10, June 2009

2006 McCutcheon Vineyard Pinot Noir

50 Greatest New World Pinot Noirs
This is the flamboyant Mornington at its enviable best with lashings of layered, boisterous red and black fruit and a heavenly, brocaded finish. Now-2013.
18, Matthew Jukes, Decanter, June 2009
Warm and round and sweet on the nose, very transparent and pretty. Great delicacy. Lacy texture and not too sweet on the finish. Very graceful. Great length. Drink 2009-11
16.5, Jancis Robinson, www.jancisrobinson.com, 5 March 2009
A convincing wine from one of the most improved Mornington Peninsula producers, plenty of wild cherry and raspberry fruit aromas; there’s some spice and lift, anise, violets and fresh French oak in there too. Supple, fine and even palate, cinnamon spiced cherries and smoothly textured tannins that ball up through the middle, finishing soft and elegant.
95, Nick Stock, 2009 Penguin Good Australian Wine Guide
Light, bright hue; precisely sculpted and structured, with black and red cherry supported by fine, savoury tannins and oak. Drink to 2013.
94, James Halliday, 2009 Australian Wine Companion

2006 Ten Minutes By Tractor Pinot Noir

This is juicy and silken, flavoursome enough and yet light on its feet too. Cherries, sap, smoke and sawdusty French oak. It's fairly generous and fruit-forward - we wouldn't be putting this in the cellar, despite its quality. Drink 2009-11.
93, Campbell Mattinson & Gary Walsh, The Big Red Wine Book 2009/10, June 2009
More developed than McCutcheon; light bodied, savoury, spicy wine, its strength lying in its length; for the purist. Drink to 2012.
91, James Halliday, 2009 Australian Wine Companion
A proven source of fine wine. Great vigour and delicacy of fruit with a hint of undergrowth and mushrooms. Really interesting and complex. Drink 2008-11.
17.5, Jancis Robinson, www.jancisrobinson.com, 15 February 2008

2006 10X Pinot Noir

This go-ahead winery consistently makes a lighter coloured, lighter weighted pinot of fragrance and finesse. It's bright and varietal, with strawberry, red cherry perfume and a succulent, fruit-sweet palate with fine tannins.
93, Huon Hooke, Gourmet Traveller Wine, June/July 2008
Ripe and varietal, with red cherry fruits, and plenty of spice; well handled toasty oak persists on the fine and juicy finish. Drink to 2011.
90, James Halliday, 2009 Australian Wine Companion
This Mornington Peninsula winery consistently makes a lighter-coloured, lighter-weighted pinot of fragrance and finesse. It's bright and varietal, with a fruit-sweet palate with fine tannins. Lovely. Now to five years. Food: Seared tuna steak.
93, Huon Hooke, Sydney Morning Herald Good Living, 12 February 2008

2005 McCutcheon Vineyard Pinot Noir

Bright, brilliant red-purple; delicate, perfumed and elegant, radically different to the Mornington Peninsula, with Burgundian finesse. Drink to 2011.
94, James Halliday, 2008 Australian Wine Companion
No doubt about it: this is Ten Minutes' finest, most elegant pinot noir to date. A wonderfully balanced and fragrant wine with black and morello cherry notes, forest floor and a lifted floral note, dried mandarin peel, too, with the oak seamlessly integrated. It builds on the palate with great persistence and length. It's powerful but not brutish and will be more complex in a year's time. If you can wait that long.
Jane Faulkner, The Age, 10 March 2007

2005 Ten Minutes By Tractor Pinot Noir

Very good hue, slightly deeper than the other pinots; a powerful wine, with lots of texture and structure to the intense fruit; needs time to settle down. Drink to 2011.
94, James Halliday, 2008 Australian Wine Companion
This is a forceful, libidinous wine with an assertive manner and ever so slightly brazen dark fruit flavours. It is much easier to let it have its way with your senses rather than stand up to what is after all the inevitable thought that everything in life ought to be ten minutes by tractor from here.
Matthew Jukes, 2007 Top 100 Australian Wines
This winery is on song. This is a terrific release: tight, flavoursome, ripped with acid, powerful but every bit varietal. It's light in colour, and yet the flavour is quite big…one of the wonders of pinot. It has sweet, beguiling, Turkish Delight-like aromatics, lots of fresh strawberry and cherry, a twiggy sourness and a good deal of length. No doubt this is very high quality. Drink 2010-2016.
Campbell Mattinson, Wine Front, 28 June 2007

2005 10X Pinot Noir

Very good purple-red hue; fragrant, spicy, stemmy notes intermingle with small red fruits; good length. Drink to 2012.
93, James Halliday, 2008 Australian Wine Companion

2004 Ten Minutes By Tractor Pinot Noir

Lifted nose, very savoury fruit. Liquorice notes and very fresh acidity that enlivens the whole. Drink 2006-11
17, Jancis Robinson, www.jancisrobinson.com, 5 March 2009
This is soft, fine and light. It is elegant and has superb oak handling that contributes the wonderful texture. This has supple, refined and lingering fruit flavours and a lovely finish.
Jon Jens, Western Suburbs Weekly, 5 December 2006
This intriguingly named vineyard is one of the new breed of Mornington vignerons which are helping to take the production of pinot noir in the region to a new level. It is fragrant, delicate and light--bodied with intense red cherry and spice flavours, succulent and silky smooth and finishes gentle and long. This excellent example of pinot shows elegance, finesse and balance. A wine for contemplation.
4.5 stars, Peter Forrestal, The Bulletin, 24 October 2006
By a long shot, the best wine I have seen from this producer. This is fabulous. Extreme persistence, an attractive mix of sweet and savoury fruit characters, lots of perfume on the nose and a deep core of varietal flavour in the mouth. A very minor lift of mint is the only flaw - but the wine carries it. Drink: 2006-2012.
94, Campbell Mattinson, Winefront Monthly, 6 October 2006
This delicious Mornington Peninsula pinot was made by an expert in the Burgundy varieties, Rick McIntyre of Moorooduc Estate, using 100 per cent wild ferment and 33 per cent new oak. The bouquet is beguiling with strawberry conserve, foresty whole-bunch ferment and black cherry nuances. The palate is where it really sings: while there's succulent sweet fruit and gorgeous texture, it also has finesse and delicacy combined with intensity and length. The balance and harmony strike a chord that keeps you coming back for more.
95, Huon Hooke, Sydney Morning Herald Good Living, 15 August 2006
The 2004 Pinot Noir (formerly labelled Reserve) is a magnificently succulent red, crammed with strawberry conserve, foresty, spicy and sweet berry aromas and flavours. It is a real mouthful and has a kind of depth and texture that Mornington seems to be able to provide better than most of our pinot regions.
Huon Hooke, The Age Good Weekend, 5 August 2006
Fragrant red fruits; more length and a brighter array of plum, strawberry and cherry than the 10X; good oak. Drink 2011.
92, James Halliday, 2007 Australian Wine Companion
This good Mornington Peninsula pinot noir is complex and retains lovely finesse. It has red berry and plum-like fruit with light gamey and undergrowthy touches. The palate is long and satiny with fine tannins underneath. Drink over four years.
4.5 stars, Ralph Kyte–Powell, The Age Epicure, 6 June 2006

2004 10X Pinot Noir

A one off, brilliant value, vibrant, plummy cracker. This is one of the top wines of my tour. If you want to trade up to the big boy, then 2005 TMBT Pinot Noir is another star wine.
Matthew Jukes, Money Week, 23 February 2007
Slightly unusual spicy/herbal/minty aromas; light to medium-bodied red fruits; spicy finish. Drink 2009.
89, James Halliday, 2007 Australian Wine Companion
Gold medal, Cool Climate Wine Show, March 2006

2003 Wallis Vineyard Pinot Noir

Good Colour; very considerable depth to the dark fruit flavours; good oak and tannins; long travel. Demands time. Drink 2008.
94, James Halliday, 2006 Australian Wine Companion
Great to see a single vineyard wine being produced here, and it is a good wine. It’s dry and long and minerally, and while sweet oak pokes out at first, give it time in the glass and the oak recedes significantly, revealing stewed, chalky, interesting fruit, rivets of spice and gentle wild edges. It will mature well. Drink: 2005-2011.
91, Campbell Mattinson, Winefront Monthly, October–November 2005

2003 Reserve Pinot Noir

Fragrant strawberry, red cherry and plum fruit; a fine, elegant, long palate; lingering finish. Drink 2010.
92, James Halliday, 2006 Australian Wine Companion
"People's Choice" Award, Federation Square Victorian Wine Awards, September 2005

2003 10X Pinot Noir

Best captures the charming, succulent cherry/berry flavours and fine but persistent tannin that make good Mornington Peninsula pinot noir so delicious. Very good with barbecued quail.
Max Allen, The Weekend Australian Magazine, 19–20 November 2005
Rich, ripe, sweetly opulent red fruits; ripe tannins, good structure. Drink 2009.
90, James Halliday, 2006 Australian Wine Companion
The Ten Minutes by Tractor Pinot Noir was for me the standout wine. Such an elusive style, especially in Pinot Noir - it is almost perfect - fruit weight, complexity and freshness all in balance. A great wine is one that touches all of the senses, has a beautiful feel in the mouth with elegance and length - a taste that lingers long after. There is a fourth dimension of wine and this has it.
René Renou, Chairman of Judges, Le Concours des Vins, 11 September 2004 (President of the INAO in France)
Gold medal, Le Concours des Vins du Victoria, 11 September 2004
Le Trophée du President du Jury (award for jury President's favourite wine of show)
Le Concours des Vins du Victoria, 11 September 2004
Jean Hameury Trophy for Best Pinot Noir of Show
Le Concours des Vins du Victoria, 11 September 2004

2002 Reserve Pinot Noir

Powerful; distinctly riper and richer than the 10X Tractor; dark plummy flavours. Drink 2009.
92, James Halliday, 2006 Australian Wine Companion
This is the best Pinot so far from this excellent, low yielding site at Main Ridge on the Mornington Peninsula. It is perfumed, intense and full of luscious fruit and earthy delights. Martin Spedding bought the brand last year, and there is no doubt the quality is going to get even better. Drinking well now or until 2010.
Sally Gudgeon, In The Black, July 2005
Gold medal, Brisbane Wine Festival, May 2005
Slow Food Movement of Queensland Trophy for the Highest Pointed Pinot Noir
Brisbane Wine Festival, May 2005
Intense and complex cola, peat, earthy nose with a perfumed lift. Long, rich and fleshy in the mouth. Very ripe, almost raisined, fruit flavours. Good drinking now.
4 stars, Winestate Annual 2005, Best Wines of 2004

2002 10X Pinot Noir

Complex, intense spicy/savoury elements from the cool vintage; very long palate and finish. Drink 2009.
93, James Halliday, 2006 Australian Wine Companion
This vibrant Mornington Peninsula pinot is alive with cherry/raspberry fruit, underscored by olive, spice and well–integrated oak. It’s perfect with pan fried tuna.
Sally Gudgeon, The Age, Sunday Life, 7 August 2005
It is the fine structure of its pinot noir that still sticks with me from my first visit to Ten Minutes by Tractor some years ago. The only thing that's changed since is that the wines have ratcheted up another notch on the scale of impressiveness, the standard release pinot noir a classic example. The 2002 exudes is a spicy, brambly undergrowth bouquet, which prompted memories of fighting my way through rainforests as a boy scout. The palate is a savoury herbaceous concoction with fantastic fine tannins of Burgundian proportions. Excellent wine! Best drinking around 2005-2011.
93, Tyson Stelzer, www.tysonstelzer.com, 17 June 2005
Definitely a pinot! Quite spicy and earthy on the nose, following through on to the palate. Olive and cherry flavours, well-handled oak. A tad feral but this gives it character.
4 stars, Winestate Annual 2005, Best Wines of 2004

2001 Reserve Pinot Noir

An enormously impressive Pinot of power and depth - a serious attempt at a bigger style.
Huon Hooke, Sydney Morning Herald Good Living, 12 August 2003
Medium red-purple; the moderately intense bouquet has a complex mix of savoury notes and plummy fruit; the elegant, supple palate supports the plum fruit with fine, silky tannins running through to a long finish.
91, James Halliday, 2004 Australian Wine Companion
This is a classy Pinot, fragrant and fruity with delicate and refined cherry and floral aromas. The palate is medium bodied, with intense varietal flavour, kept fresh by tangy acidity.
4.5 stars, Ralph Kyte–Powell, Epicure Uncorked, 1 July 2003
…all are good but the Reserve Pinot Noir 2001 is outstanding. An enormously impressive pinot of power and depth - a serious attempt at a bigger style. The nose is all black cherries and spices; the oak is apparent at this stage and the palate is big and mouth-coating, with a lot of extract and fruit/oak richness.
Huon Hooke, Sydney Morning Herald, 26 July 2003
This is a classy Pinot.
4 stars, Ralph Kyte–Powell, The Age Epicure, 1 July 2003

2001 10X Pinot Noir

89, James Halliday, 2004 Australian Wine Companion

2000 Judd Pinot Noir

Medium red-purple; sweet, complex strawberry and spice aromas lead into a stylish, light to medium-bodied palate, with surprising intensity and length, a touch of dark cherry adding to the complexity of fruit flavours.
94, James Halliday, 2003 Australian Wine Companion

2000 McCutcheon Pinot Noir

Light to medium red-purple; the bouquet has plum, cherry and some savoury notes, the palate with clearly expressed plum and cherry fruit; less complex than the Judd Vineyard but with good structure. Subtle oak.
92, James Halliday, 2003 Australian Wine Companion

2000 Wallis Pinot Noir

Light to medium purple-red, bright and clear; the bouquet is clean, the most concentrated of the three individual vineyard pinot noirs, not particularly aromatic. The palate is firm and long, sustained by good tannins; the least immediately attractive of the three wines, but may well develop better than the others.
91, James Halliday, 2003 Australian Wine Companion
Gold medal, Le Concours des Vins du Victoria, 2001

2000 10X Pinot Noir

Light red-purple; light, spicy/sappy/plummy aromas became increasingly fragrant and complex as the wine sat in the glass; the palate, while light bodied, has great texture and length, with a mix of sappy/savoury characters alongside strawberry, cherry and plum. Fully deserved its gold medal at the 2001 Victorian Wines Show; also demonstrates the danger of judging pinot noir by its colour.
94, James Halliday, 2003 Australian Wine Companion
The nose is complex with plum, malt, marzipan and a layer of undergrowthy depth. It's intensely flavoured yet medium bodied, with seamless texture, tangy acidity and soft tannins. Drink over three years.
4.5 stars, Ralph Kyte–Powell, Epicure Uncorked, 2 April 2002
Gold medal, Victorian Wine Show, 2001

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