2025 Heroes Vineyard Anti Hero Pinot Meunier

Pinot Meunier that is Absolutely Delicious.

Different. Delicious. Small producer. Fascinating vineyard. And ridiculously easy to drink.

93 Points – Halliday Wine Companion

Henty, Victoria

RRP $37 a bottle

Here's one of the most interesting wines in the Heroes range.

Pinot Meunier.

Most wine drinkers know the grape as one of the three great varieties of Champagne, alongside Chardonnay and Pinot Noir.

But take away the bubbles and make it as a serious still red wine?

Now things get really interesting.

The 2025 Heroes Vineyard Anti-Hero Pinot Meunier comes from Cobboboonee Vineyard in Henty, one of the coolest wine-growing areas on mainland Australia. Heroes sources its Pinot Meunier from this site specifically for the Anti-Hero range.

And Halliday Wine Companion has given the new 2025:

93 Points

At an RRP of just $37, this is exactly the kind of wine we love finding.

Different.

Delicious.

Small producer.

Fascinating vineyard.

And ridiculously easy to drink.

93 Points – Halliday Wine Companion

The 2025 Anti-Hero Pinot Meunier has received:

93 Points – Halliday Wine Companion

And the quality isn't surprising when you look at what James Thomas achieved with the previous vintage.

The 2024 Anti-Hero Pinot Meunier received an even bigger 95 Halliday points, with Philip Rich praising its red cherry, poached strawberry and floral profile, silky tannins and bright acidity.

That tells you something important.

Pinot Meunier isn't an experimental sideshow at Heroes.

James Thomas is taking the variety seriously.

And the results are seriously good.

What Does Still Pinot Meunier Taste Like?

If you love Pinot Noir and Gamay, you need to try this.

Pinot Meunier can deliver that gorgeous combination of bright red fruit, perfume, spice and silky texture, while often feeling incredibly energetic and immediately drinkable.

Expect the 2025 to sit in that beautifully light-to-medium-bodied spectrum, with characters along the lines of:

• Red cherry
• Raspberry
• Crushed strawberry
• Cranberry
• Redcurrant
• Rose petals
• Dried flowers
• Subtle spice
• Earth
• Dried herbs
• Fine savoury notes
• Silky tannins
• Bright acidity

It's the sort of red that doesn't need a huge steak.

It's about perfume, freshness and drinkability.

What Exactly Is Pinot Meunier?

Here's where things get fascinating.

Pinot Meunier is a close relative of Pinot Noir.

For most people, however, the name is associated almost entirely with Champagne.

Along with:

Chardonnay

and

Pinot Noir

Meunier is one of the principal grapes responsible for the world's greatest sparkling wines.

But it's capable of producing brilliant still reds as well.

And in a genuinely cool climate like Henty, it starts to make a lot of sense.

Forget Champagne for a Minute

This wine gives you the chance to taste Pinot Meunier without Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, bubbles, dosage or extended lees ageing getting in the way.

Just:

Pinot Meunier as Pinot Meunier.

That's what makes it so much fun.

You can see the variety's natural:

Red fruit

Florals

Fresh acidity

Fine tannin

Spice

and incredible drinkability.

If you've spent years drinking Champagne, tasting a still Meunier like this can be a genuine light-bulb moment.

Henty – Seriously Cool Australian Wine Country

The fruit comes from:

Cobboboonee Vineyard – Henty, Victoria

Heroes describes Henty as the coolest wine region on mainland Australia, inland from the Southern Ocean near Portland. The site has a limestone base beneath duplex sandy clay-loam soils.

That's serious cool-climate territory.

And that's precisely what you want for Pinot Meunier.

Rather than pushing towards high alcohol and heavy fruit, the climate helps preserve:

Freshness • Perfume • Acidity • Delicacy

Heroes also describes all the sites used for its Anti-Hero range as cool-climate vineyards with maritime influence from the Southern Ocean.

Limestone + Sandy Clay Loam

The vineyard itself adds another layer to the story.

Heroes describes Cobboboonee as having:

A limestone base

with:

Duplex sandy clay-loam soils.

That's an intriguing foundation for such a delicate red variety.

Combine that geology with the cool Henty climate and Southern Ocean influence and you've got a fascinating environment for Pinot Meunier.

This isn't simply an unusual grape being made for novelty value.

There's a genuine vineyard story behind it.

James Thomas & The Anti-Hero Project

The Anti-Hero wines allow winemaker James Thomas to step outside his original Heroes Vineyard and work with other cool-climate sites he finds compelling.

The current sources include:

Yeowarra Hill – Otway Hinterland

Coola Road – Mount Gambier

Cobboboonee Vineyard – Henty

with Cobboboonee supplying the Pinot Meunier.

The idea isn't to make every wine taste like Heroes.

It's the opposite.

Different vineyard. Different grape. Different expression.

But with the same attention to detail.

Halliday's Philip Rich specifically noted that Thomas gives the well-priced Anti-Hero wines the same level of care as the flagship range.

That's why these wines offer such compelling value.

Who Is James Thomas?

James Thomas has a serious cool-climate winemaking background.

Before establishing Heroes, the British-born Thomas worked as:

Assistant Winemaker at Bannockburn Vineyards

and then:

Head Winemaker at Clyde Park.

That's significant experience with two important Victorian Pinot Noir and Chardonnay producers.

In 2016, James and his wife Eloise took on the vineyard that would become Heroes, pursuing a restrained winemaking philosophy focused on precision, site expression and age-worthiness.

And now the results are starting to attract serious attention.

Heroes Is No Longer Flying Under the Radar

Halliday Wine Companion's Philip Rich recently profiled James Thomas as an “Unsung Hero” after visiting the vineyard and being blown away by the range.

Look at some of the recent Halliday scores:

2024 Heroes Vineyard Pinot Noir – 97 Points

2024 Heroes Vineyard Chardonnay – 96 Points

2024 Heroes Dry Riesling – 95+ Points

2024 Anti-Hero Yeowarra Hill Pinot Noir – 95+ Points

2024 Anti-Hero Pinot Meunier – 95 Points

2024 Anti-Hero Yeowarra Hill Chardonnay – 94 Points

2024 Anti-Hero Coola Road Chardonnay – 93+ Points

And now the 2025 Anti-Hero Pinot Meunier has received another 93 Halliday points.

This isn'

Pinot Meunier vs Pinot Noir

t one wine getting lucky.

There's quality running right through this operation.

If you're wondering whether you'll like Meunier, Pinot Noir is the obvious reference point.

But don't expect them to taste identical.

Pinot Noir

Often gives:

Cherry • Strawberry • Florals • Forest Floor • Spice • Fine Tannin

Pinot Meunier

Can lean towards:

Raspberry • Cherry • Strawberry • Cranberry • Flowers • Spice • Bright Acidity

Pinot Meunier can be incredibly charming.

It doesn't necessarily demand contemplation.

Sometimes it just demands:

Another glass.

And there's nothing wrong with that.

Pinot Meunier vs Gamay

Here's another useful comparison.

If you love good Beaujolais, this could be right up your alley.

Gamay and Meunier aren't the same grape, but stylistically there can be overlap in the way good examples combine:

Bright fruit

Low-to-moderate alcohol

Perfume

Fine tannin

Fresh acidity

Serious drinkability

The 2025 Heroes Anti-Hero Pinot Meunier even appears on contemporary restaurant wine lists alongside lighter reds such as Gamay and other delicate, chillable styles.

That's exactly how I'd approach it.

Yes – Chill It

This is one of those reds where I absolutely would.

Not refrigerator-cold.

But give it 20–30 minutes in the fridge before opening.

Serve it around:

12–14°C

and watch what happens.

The red fruit becomes incredibly vibrant.

The florals lift.

The acidity feels electric.

And suddenly the bottle starts disappearing far too quickly.

This is the kind of red you can drink through spring and summer just as easily as autumn and winter.

Food Pairings

This is enormously versatile.

Try it with:

• Charcuterie
• Prosciutto
• Terrine
• Pâté
• Roast chicken
• Duck
• Pork
• Salmon
• Tuna
• Mushroom pizza
• Mushroom risotto
• Roast vegetables
• Gruyère
• Comté
• Soft cheeses

I'd love it with a charcuterie board.

Put the bottle slightly chilled in the middle of the table alongside prosciutto, salami, pâté, cheese and good bread.

That's a seriously good afternoon.

$37 – This Is Where It Gets Really Interesting

This isn't a $70 curiosity wine.

The RRP is:

$37.

And you're getting:

93 Points – Halliday Wine Companion

Pinot Meunier

Cobboboonee Vineyard

Henty

Cool Mainland Australian Climate

Southern Ocean Influence

Limestone-Based Soils

Made by James Thomas

From the Heroes Anti-Hero Project

Heroes currently lists the 2025 Anti-Hero Pinot Meunier among its current-release wines, sourced from Henty.

For $37, there's a lot of interest packed into one bottle.

Drinking & Cellaring

This is a wine I'd buy primarily to drink, rather than bury in the cellar.

The previous 2024 release was praised by Halliday for its silky tannins and bright acidity and recommended for drinking young over the following few years.

For the 2025, I'd suggest:

Drink now–2031.

Young is where I'd want it.

Fresh.

Perfumed.

Juicy.

Energetic.

Serve it slightly chilled and enjoy what makes Pinot Meunier so much fun.

Why We Love It

This might be one of the most interesting wines in the entire Heroes range.

Not because it's the highest scoring.

It isn't.

Not because it's the most expensive.

It's one of the cheapest.

But because it gives you something genuinely different.

93 Points – Halliday Wine Companion
100% Pinot Meunier
Cobboboonee Vineyard
Henty, Victoria
Seriously Cool Climate
Southern Ocean Influence
Limestone-Based Soils
Made by James Thomas
RRP $37

And if you need another reason to take Heroes' Meunier seriously, the 2024 vintage scored 95 Halliday points.

If you're a Pinot Noir drinker, Gamay drinker, Champagne lover or simply someone who loves discovering unusual cool-climate reds, put this on your list.

It's light enough to chill.

Complex enough to be interesting.

And delicious enough that the variety almost becomes irrelevant.

93 Halliday Points. Henty Pinot Meunier. $37 RRP.

The 2025 Heroes Anti-Hero Pinot Meunier is exactly the kind of delicious, left-of-centre Australian red that makes discovering new wines so much fun.