International Wine Challenge - May 2024
Aromas of red fruit, smoky spice, nutmeg, plush silken palate. Juicy red sherry flavours and a elegant firm finish. 95 Points.
Shanteh Wale, The Wine Pilot - April 2024
Solidified in a core of black fruit, Hawthorn, lingonberry and black cherry. Mirabelle plum skin, crushed granite and volcanic rock. It's an almost black river pebble minerality balanced by purple shiso and subtle holy basil. Potting soil and carob. The wine continues to evolve its unique character and this year shows the added edge of defined skin tannins and outline. Like a well framed picture, it’s being shown off to its full appeal. If this is the future of the Hills Pinot Style then it's a bright future indeed. Drink now and will cellar 2-4 years. A lovely wine for a 24 month aged blue cheese, a bit sultry, a bit sweet and full of umami. 94 Points.
Mike Bennie, Halliday Wine Companion - April 2023
A sophisticated pinot noir with strong perfume, dark fruit and spice characters, twiggy wood elements, a touch of smoky reduction with mineral elements and a suggestion of bramble/undergrowth lending complexity. Indeed, 'complex' is a good word for this wine, the quibble being that it feels just a touch dried out and ruddy, albeit silty tannins are appreciated and the oak seasoning feels quality, if not a touch overt. The general gist is a wine of potency, structure and concentration with excellent length, you'll just be wanting a bit more fancy oak affectation and dry extract of fruit character. That said, this is a serious pinot noir for those opting for impact and impressiveness. 93 Points.
Huon Hooke, The Real Review - March 2024
Good depth and hue of colour, the bouquet rich and complex, with dark-cherry/berry, five-spice and spicy oak aromas, the palate tremendously deep and intense, concentrated and plush textured. A with of terrific flavour and length. Abundant tannins too, which are in fine balance with the flavour. A very impressive pinot. 96 Points.
Ned Goodwin MW, Jamesuckling.com - March 2024
This brilliant expression incites further interest in Adelaide Hills pinot noir, an idiom challenged by the rise in temperature. And yet there are moderate sub-zones, such as Lenswood, where cooling winds scuttle across a near vertiginous site to obviate the medicinal notes of elsewhere, while evincing a long-limbed tannic authority. Forestry accents of porcini, sous-bois and mulch, muddled with red cherry, clove, dill and tinderbox, from judicious whole-bunch use. The tannins draw the saliva from the mouth, while servicing a moreish astringency. Delicious, mid-weighted pinot noir. 94 Points.
Campbell Mattinson, The Wine Front - March 2024
Vineyard planted on a south-facing site in 1999 at 500m above sea level.
It’s velvety and it’s structured. The fruit has a clear freshness but it also has depth; there’s an undergrowth aspect amid the rounds of cherry-plum; the finish is satisfying verging on emphatic. Woodsmoke and cedar characters are clear but complementary and in any case, fruit freshness remains paramount. Excellent. 94 Points.
International Wine Challenge - May 2024
Aromas of red fruit, smoky spice, nutmeg, plush silken palate. Juicy red sherry flavours and a elegant firm finish. 95 Points.
Shanteh Wale, The Wine Pilot - April 2024
Solidified in a core of black fruit, Hawthorn, lingonberry and black cherry. Mirabelle plum skin, crushed granite and volcanic rock. It's an almost black river pebble minerality balanced by purple shiso and subtle holy basil. Potting soil and carob. The wine continues to evolve its unique character and this year shows the added edge of defined skin tannins and outline. Like a well framed picture, it’s being shown off to its full appeal. If this is the future of the Hills Pinot Style then it's a bright future indeed. Drink now and will cellar 2-4 years. A lovely wine for a 24 month aged blue cheese, a bit sultry, a bit sweet and full of umami. 94 Points.
Mike Bennie, Halliday Wine Companion - April 2023
A sophisticated pinot noir with strong perfume, dark fruit and spice characters, twiggy wood elements, a touch of smoky reduction with mineral elements and a suggestion of bramble/undergrowth lending complexity. Indeed, 'complex' is a good word for this wine, the quibble being that it feels just a touch dried out and ruddy, albeit silty tannins are appreciated and the oak seasoning feels quality, if not a touch overt. The general gist is a wine of potency, structure and concentration with excellent length, you'll just be wanting a bit more fancy oak affectation and dry extract of fruit character. That said, this is a serious pinot noir for those opting for impact and impressiveness. 93 Points.
Huon Hooke, The Real Review - March 2024
Good depth and hue of colour, the bouquet rich and complex, with dark-cherry/berry, five-spice and spicy oak aromas, the palate tremendously deep and intense, concentrated and plush textured. A with of terrific flavour and length. Abundant tannins too, which are in fine balance with the flavour. A very impressive pinot. 96 Points.
Ned Goodwin MW, Jamesuckling.com - March 2024
This brilliant expression incites further interest in Adelaide Hills pinot noir, an idiom challenged by the rise in temperature. And yet there are moderate sub-zones, such as Lenswood, where cooling winds scuttle across a near vertiginous site to obviate the medicinal notes of elsewhere, while evincing a long-limbed tannic authority. Forestry accents of porcini, sous-bois and mulch, muddled with red cherry, clove, dill and tinderbox, from judicious whole-bunch use. The tannins draw the saliva from the mouth, while servicing a moreish astringency. Delicious, mid-weighted pinot noir. 94 Points.
Campbell Mattinson, The Wine Front - March 2024
Vineyard planted on a south-facing site in 1999 at 500m above sea level.
It’s velvety and it’s structured. The fruit has a clear freshness but it also has depth; there’s an undergrowth aspect amid the rounds of cherry-plum; the finish is satisfying verging on emphatic. Woodsmoke and cedar characters are clear but complementary and in any case, fruit freshness remains paramount. Excellent. 94 Points.