2022 Hamilton Russell Vineyards, Pinot Noir, Hemel-en-Aarde Valley, South Africa
Critics reviews
Organically farmed until 2022, but disease pressure forced them to abandon this. 8% whole bunch. Aged 10 months in François Frères burgundy barrels (36% new). Ambient yeast and their own, commercially available, Sauvage strain. Mainly 115, plus 113 and 667 clones (apparently, 777 rots too easily this close to the ocean).
Since 2021 they have worked with more clarification pre-barrel to reduce reduction ‘which is not understood on the SA market’, according to Albrecht. He also makes wine for Hamilton Russell at Zena Crown in Oregon, where he can press directly into barrel, and there’s no reduction.
Mid to pale ruby. Quite ambitious, restrained nose. Slight perception of spritz on the palate and a little stern, definitely dry, on the end. Fine tannins.
Drink 2024 - 2030
Jancis Robinson MW, JancisRobinson.com (June 2023)
The 2022 Hamilton Russell Vineyards Pinot Noir is yet another sublime example of what this estate can do with the so-called Heartbreak Grape. I honestly believe there’s no better Pinot in all of South Africa. It’s tight, elegant and reserved with soft, seductive red fruit and just a touch of something spicy on the finish. I love it.
Jonathan Ray, The Spectator (March 2023)
About this WINE
Hamilton Russell Vineyards
For the last decade and a half, Hamilton Russell’s immensely successful Burgundian-style wines have set the standard of quality and sophistication for South African wine. The estate is located only three kilometres from the Atlantic Ocean and the sea breezes make this one of the coolest regions for wine production in South Africa. Hamilton Russell wines are only made from the Burgundian varieties Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, grown on stony, clay-rich shale slopes.
The property is overseen by the charming Anthony Hamilton Russell who ensures that the outstanding wines produced here are restrained yet complex and, most fundamentally, expressions of their own terroirs. Two thousand and thirteen was the last vintage of winemaker Hannes Storm after a decade at the estate; he has since moved on to set up his own project, and was succeeded by Emul Ross, ex-Assistant Winemaker at another Chardonnay and Pinot Noir specialist, Cape Chamonix.
The Wine Advocate raves, in great vintages, their Pinot Noir can be utterly sublime and age as well as any great Burgundy.
Walker Bay
Walker Bay is a coastal wine district, located to the south-east of Capetown, near the town of Hermanus (of whale-watching fame).
Walker Bay has built its reputation on Pinot Noir, and best exemplified by the wines from the Bouchard-Finlayson & Hamilton-Russell estates.
Walker Bay has a cool, maritime climate. However vineyard virus and small scale production have prevented thsi wine region from competing effectively against the Pinot Noirs from New Zealand.
Pinot Noir
Pinot Noir is probably the most frustrating, and at times infuriating, wine grape in the world. However when it is successful, it can produce some of the most sublime wines known to man. This thin-skinned grape which grows in small, tight bunches performs well on well-drained, deepish limestone based subsoils as are found on Burgundy's Côte d'Or.
Pinot Noir is more susceptible than other varieties to over cropping - concentration and varietal character disappear rapidly if yields are excessive and yields as little as 25hl/ha are the norm for some climats of the Côte d`Or.
Because of the thinness of the skins, Pinot Noir wines are lighter in colour, body and tannins. However the best wines have grip, complexity and an intensity of fruit seldom found in wine from other grapes. Young Pinot Noir can smell almost sweet, redolent with freshly crushed raspberries, cherries and redcurrants. When mature, the best wines develop a sensuous, silky mouth feel with the fruit flavours deepening and gamey "sous-bois" nuances emerging.
The best examples are still found in Burgundy, although Pinot Noir`s key role in Champagne should not be forgotten. It is grown throughout the world with notable success in the Carneros and Russian River Valley districts of California, and the Martinborough and Central Otago regions of New Zealand.
When is a wine ready to drink?
We provide drinking windows for all our wines. Alongside the drinking windows there is a bottle icon and a maturity stage. Bear in mind that the best time to drink a wine does also depend on your taste.
Not ready
These wines are very young. Whilst they're likely to have lots of intense flavours, their acidity or tannins may make them feel austere. Although it isn't "wrong" to drink these wines now, you are likely to miss out on a lot of complexity by not waiting for them to mature.
Ready - youthful
These wines are likely to have plenty of fruit flavours still and, for red wines, the tannins may well be quite noticeable. For those who prefer younger, fruitier wines, or if serving alongside a robust meal, these will be very enjoyable. If you choose to hold onto these wines, the fruit flavours will evolve into more savoury complexity.
Ready - at best
These wines are likely to have a beautiful balance of fruit, spice and savoury flavours. The acidity and tannins will have softened somewhat, and the wines will show plenty of complexity. For many, this is seen as the ideal time to drink and enjoy these wines. If you choose to hold onto these wines, they will become more savoury but not necessarily more complex.
Ready - mature
These wines are likely to have plenty of complexity, but the fruit flavours will have been almost completely replaced by savoury and spice notes. These wines may have a beautiful texture at this stage of maturity. There is lots to enjoy when drinking wines at this stage. Most of these wines will hold in this window for a few years, though at the very end of this drinking window, wines start to lose complexity and decline.
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Description
Hamilton Russell Vineyards Pinot Noir is from low-yielding vines on clay-rich soils. The 2022 is aged in French oak barriques from Francois Freres with 36% new oak and sees a small proportion of the whole bunch. It is full of crunchy red fruit and savoury, spicy, earthy notes.
The oak is incredibly well integrated, soft and plush on the palate, yet tight and nuanced. Cranberry and strawberries, spice and herbs, while gripping tannins, add structure. Deliciously Burgundian and distinctively South African. 13.3% abv.
Alex Weller, Account Manager, Berry Bros. & Rudd (August 2023)
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