Acclaimed Victorian distillery Bass & Flinders has put forth its much anticipated second release of the sell-out Heartbreak Pinot Gin, in a nod and complement to the ‘Heartbreak’ grape.
The distillery’s inaugural release of Heartbreak Pinot-Noir Gin sold out in its first year, which was less than a third of the time predicted.
In 2021 Pinot Noir accounted for around 32 per cent of the top five grape varietals, as demand has grown nearly 20 per cent in the past few years.
Bass & Flinders planned to exponentially increase production in 2022, but quickly ran into problems.
With the boom in consumer interest comes scarcity, particularly in a thin-skinned varietal that is notoriously tricky to produce, earning it the nickname ‘the Heartbreak Grape’.
“The inaugural release of our gin was an eye-opener for us,” says Bass & Flinders’ director and head distiller Holly Klintworth – one of the few female distillers in Victoria.
“Consumers loved the gin for both their own enjoyment and for gifting, and bars loved it for on-premise mixing, cocktails and classic spirit mixers.
“So, we decided to up the ante in 2022 … and this is where the challenge begins.”
B&F had secured nationwide distribution and planned on multiplying production ten-fold. They contacted winemakers and fruit growers in pursuit of a grape “more precious than Hermès silk”.
Reflective of consumer demand for hyper locality, the gin is laboriously made by hand – and subject to the elements, as a natural product, not made from colours and concentrates.
It is said to be dedicated to those who love to sip and savour a glass of Pinot Noir but don’t want to commit to opening a whole bottle, not finishing it, and throwing the residual away.
It is specifically designed to be paired with dishes traditionally matched with Pinot Noir, and best served alongside a hearty protein such as lamb or duck or mushrooms.
Bass & Flinders prides itself on innovation, seen in its use of ant pheromones for its iconic Angry Ant Gin, but with Pinot Noir crops down, they were forced to scale back to a third of the initially forecasted quantity.
Pinot Noir is known as the femme fatale of the winemaking world. American winemaking guru André Tchelistcheff said “God made Cabernet Sauvignon, whereas the devil made Pinot Noir”.
The grape is climatically grown, on the fringe of where even possible, with growers facing battles every season, grappling between too much sun and not enough heat, ripeness before maturation and bunch rot.
Some premium growing regions saw production drops of over 60 per cent in 2022.
Despite the smaller than anticipated harvest, B&F was able to increase production, using grapes sourced from Mornington’s Tuerong Plains.
The distillery focussed on very traditional wine-making foundations, to ensure Heartbreak Pinot Noir Gin, with ABV of 38 per cent, was not an aperitif drink but a food-first spirit that would test the traditional wines with which it hopes to compete.
“It’s part and parcel of what we do, and whilst we are sad it’s once again a very limited product, we are pleased to have been able to put something forward that we’re exceptionally proud of, and that reflects the nature of the 2022 harvest,” says Klintworth.
“And it was a small harvest, thus it’s a passionate Peninsula Pinot Gin in heart and spirit.”
