Winemaker Notes
Akin to the 2020, this vintage shows both red and black fruits on the nose; wild strawberry and rhubarb work alongside blackberries and tomato leaf while black olives, salted liquorice and a signature charcuterie-like smokiness add gravitas. The palate is fresh, vibrant and precise, with red plum and sour cherry supported by a racy acidity and fine, pine-resin tannins. A full and finessed expression of its multiple vineyards – and a wine with the structure to age beyond 2030.
Professional Ratings
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Wine Spectator
A minerally red, medium-bodied and fresh, with macerated plum and raspberry fruit showing good length and integration with taut, silky-textured tannins. Accents of dried dill, anise hyssop, wet stone and paprika linger through the finish. Drink now through 2031. 100 cases imported.
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.