I love this wine year after year, and I'd rather be drinking it than writing about it so I'll let the previous note stand. Breathing this in is like walking into an opium den for wine lovers. Satin pillows of fleshy black cherry invite you to lie back, close your eyes and let your senses roam. Surely one of South Africa's finest Pinot Noir producers! Hamilton-Russell leads the way in the country for cool-climate viticulture and racy, exciting wines. Sophisticated and complex, but extremely easy to drink. Lavish fleshy ripe cherry aromas and flavours yet not simple or sweet. Complex, elegant and layered South African Pinot Noir from a master producer. Some dark spice on the finish. Silk texture. Chapter three of my second book (Unquenchable) includes a visit to this winery and dinner with the brilliant Anthony Hamilton Russell. This is easy to mistake for a top shelf Burgundian Pinot.
July 2018