2024 The Little Wine Company Pecorino

Pecorino is creating a bit of a buzz in wine circles. It’s been catching the eye of drinkers and winemakers alike for its richer mouthfeel and flavour nicely countered by bright acidity. The Little Wine Company saw the potential early on, this is its fourth release. Spring flowers and summer stone fruits, citrus, apple and pear are busy and fresh and clean and delicious. The grape’s natural enlivening acidity does the job so well, teasing the tastebuds and finishing dry.

For most, the name refers to a hard Italian cheese made from sheeps’ milk. There is a link. The grape was given the same name – ‘pecora’ means sheep – as the vines grew along the routes taken by the shepherds when bringing the sheep down from the mountains. Needless to say, it is not a common variety here in Australia but it is certainly worth exploring. It seems well suited to the Hunter with a tolerance for warmer conditions and a lack of water. A green/gold hue, the nose gives us notes of stone fruits, nuts, spices, apricot skins and figs. The structure is a wine of poise, tight, with medium length and crisp acidity. A most likeable wine, one that will provide attractive drinking for up to five years. Those with a touch of the mischievous to them might like to include it in a blind tasting, because good luck to anyone trying to pick it.