Pinot Noir 2022

HAMILTON RUSSELL VINEYARDS

Pinot Noir
2022

  • Sustainable
Country
South Africa
Regulated designation
Wine of origin (WO)
Region
Western Cape
Subregion
Hemel-en-Aarde Valley
Varietal(s)
Pinot Noir 100 %
Colour
Red
Sugar
Dry
Producer's website

About this winery

Hamilton Russell Vineyards – one of the most southerly wine Estates in Africa and one of the closest to the sea – pioneered viticulture and winemaking in the beautiful, cool, maritime Hemel-en-Aarde Valley appellation, just behind the old fishing village of Hermanus. The Estate specialises in producing highly individual, terroir driven Pinot noir and Chardonnay, which are widely regarded as the best in South Africa and among the finest in the New World. Owner, Anthony Hamilton Russell took...

See the HAMILTON RUSSELL VINEYARDS detail page for more information on this brand

Press reviews

Decanter

- 96 points -

Andy Howard MW, March 2022 (Vintage 2021)

Anthony Hamilton Russell views this as perhaps his finest Pinot Noir to date. 2021 was a cooler, later vintage (only 2001, 2004 and 2008 have been cooler in the past 25 years). It shows concentrated red berry fruit and sweet and spicy notes on the palate with velvety tannins and structure for the long haul. Aged 10 months in François Frères barriques. Still ultra-youthful, it needs two or three years but will keep several decades.

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Falstaff

- 96 points -

August 2021 (Vintage 2021)

A hint of Amarena, of dark peony petal, of iris and dark oak leaf. All of this is subtle, but wonderfully aromatic. That aroma, that subtle bitterness suggested by the oakleaf and iris, turns into a sense of liquorice. The tannins are incredibly fine. There is depth rather than power and that incredible aromatic load. Texture, body and flavours unite into something that is more than the sum of its parts. So beautifully long

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Tim Atkin MW

- 96 points -

Tim Atkin MW, September 2021 (Vintage 2020)

Bouncing back from the fires in 2019 - and then some - this is the best young Pinot Noir release I've tasted from Hamilton Russell. Representing a subtle shift in style towards greater perfume and fruit, this is a detailed, finely judged blend of clones 113, 115 and 667, with svelte tannins, tidy acidity, rose petal top notes and skilfully integrated oak.

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Natalie MacLean

- 95 points -

December 2019

A gorgeously layered Pinot Noir with mouth-watering raspberry, mulberry, cherry, fresh herb, sweet spice and smoky flavours on the palate. So much to enjoy on the PN. Enjoy now and for the next 10 years.

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Wine Align

- 95 points -

November 2019

There have been many Hamilton Russell pinot noir poured in my anxiously awaiting glasses over the last five years. It’s hard to believe we are here at 2018 but time is a joy when you are having a noirmance. The fruit is exceptional in this vintage because it just feels like the warm day/cool night fix is in. The diurnal flux has locked in freshness and sweet tension like no recent memory can recall. Makes for a most grippy yet excitable pinot noir of concentration, presence and promise. Benchmark in every respect.

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Greg Sherwood MW

- 95 points -

(Vintage 2018)

Every new release reveals a vintage of Hamilton Russell Vineyards Pinot Noir that is again purer, finer and more distinguished than the previous vintage. The 2018 is no exception showing a broody dark fruited nose with lashings of black cherry, black currant and salted black plums. At this young stage, the oak is incredibly well integrated allowing both the purity of black berry fruit and the limestone minerality to really shine through. On the palate, alluring hints of blueberry and mulberry dance a tightly choreographed routine supported by a well drilled accompaniment of mineral tannins finishing with a long, sappy, black bramble berry finish. This must surely rank as one of the finest young Pinot Noirs produced at the winery to date.

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Tim Atkin MW

- 94 points -

Tim Atkin MW, September 2023 (Vintage 2022)

Rarely a Pinot Noir that one should be in a hurry to drink, the 2022 Hamilton Russell bottling needs time to develop and work its magic. This 2022 is comparatively serious and shuttered at the moment, with dark-fruited complexity, some clove spice from 10% whole clusters, grippy, sinewy tannins and stylish 36% new wood.

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Tim Atkin MW

- 93 points -

September 2019

This was showing quite a bit of oak and tannin when I tasted it, but Hamilton Russell Pinots are rarely showy in their youth, taking a while to develop complexity in bottle. Savoury, earthy and toasty, with plenty of backbone, grip and acidity and a core of sweet red beery fruit.

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