Winemaker Notes
A wine that follows in the full bodied footsteps of the 2019 with cranberry, pomegranate and bruised strawberry on the nose as well as rose, rosemary and fynbos. The palate shows a darker edge, featuring olive tapenade and soy as well a hint of grilled meat. The tannins are supple but, with a stemmy, pine-needle grip that adds structure along with a fresh acid, this wine is accessible now and will improve through 2030.
Professional Ratings
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Vinous
The 2020 Peter Max felt quite austere on the nose, more so than the 2019 that I had tasted 3-4 days previously. This demands coaxing, eventually revealing brambly red fruit, briar, damp moss and then later hints of morello cherries. The palate is medium-bodied with supple tannins, taut and crisp delivering very pure tart red fruit. This is an attractive "bite" toward the finish, which is structured like a Morey-Saint-Denis, the lingering salinity urging you back. Excellent, but give it a couple of years for the aromatics to fully open.
Thin-skinned, finicky and temperamental, Pinot Noir is also one of the most rewarding grapes to grow and remains a labor of love for some of the greatest vignerons in Burgundy. Fairly adaptable but highly reflective of the environment in which it is grown, Pinot Noir prefers a cool climate and requires low yields to achieve high quality. Outside of France, outstanding examples come from in Oregon, California and throughout specific locations in wine-producing world. Somm Secret—André Tchelistcheff, California’s most influential post-Prohibition winemaker decidedly stayed away from the grape, claiming “God made Cabernet. The Devil made Pinot Noir.”
A relatively cool, maritime climate area, Walker Bay includes three important wards: Hemel-en-Aarde Valley, Upper Hemel-en-Aarde Valley and Hemel-en-Aarde Ridge. These sites benefit from the cooling ocean winds and are reputed for the production of Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinotage.