Bass Phillip: a short history

Bass Phillip is at Leongatha in South Gippsland, about two hours south-east of Melbourne. It is cool, wet, green dairy country, a long way from the better-known wine regions of Victoria. Vinco is the exclusive UK agent for the estate.

Phillip Jones, 1979

Phillip Jones was an electrical engineer with a serious interest in wine. In 1979 he planted a small vineyard at Leongatha, a little under three hectares, and named it after the explorers George Bass and Arthur Phillip. His first idea was Bordeaux: he planted Cabernet Sauvignon. The climate did not suit it, and by the middle of the 1980s, with the Burgundies of Henri Jayer in mind, he had turned the vineyard over to Pinot Noir and Chardonnay.

He made his first Pinot Noir in 1984 and then waited. Nothing was sold until 1991, twelve years after the first vines went in, when the vintages from 1985 to 1989 were released together.

How the vineyard is farmed

Jones planted far more densely than was usual in Australia, at something close to three times the number of vines per hectare that his neighbours would have used, and closer to what is done in Burgundy. The vines are not irrigated and many are on their own roots. Yields are very low. From 2006, after a visit to Burgundy, the estate has been farmed on biodynamic lines. In the cellar the approach is simple: wild yeast, little sulphur, no filtration.

A second, larger site near Leongatha followed in 1996. The Pinot Noir is bottled in three tiers, Estate, Premium and Reserve, and there is Chardonnay and a small amount of Gamay.

Jean-Marie Fourrier, 2020

Jean-Marie Fourrier, of Domaine Fourrier in Gevrey-Chambertin, first came to Bass Phillip in 2002 to consult, and kept in touch with the estate for nearly two decades afterwards. When Jones decided to step back, Fourrier and his partners bought it. The sale went through in April 2020, and 2019 was Jones's last vintage.

Fourrier describes his plan as evolution without revolution. His brother-in-law, Adam "Skip" Francis, manages the estate, and Skip's wife Dimity runs logistics. A further vineyard at Kardella was added in October 2020, and a new winery has been approved.

At Vinco

We hold wines from both sides of the handover: the Estate Pinot Noir 2019 from Phillip Jones's last vintage, and the 2020, 2021 and 2023 vintages made since, in Estate and Premium Pinot Noir, Estate Chardonnay and Gamay. You can read more on our Bass Phillip page, see the wines on our list, or get in touch about an allocation. We are also planning a Bass Phillip evening; you can register interest on our Events page.