Much more Burgundian in style, this reflects a low-yielding vintage with crisp acidity and fine tannins in charge on the palate. There isn't the same amount of up-front richness as the 2015 but Burgundy fans will love the gravelly precision and tension here, enhanced with use of 5% whole-bunch. This is a real terroir driven wine. Dark-cherry and spice notes on the palate with a long, lingering finish. Has a definite hint of Gevrey-Chambertin.

Tightly focused, with a lovely beam of red currant, raspberry and bitter cherry coulis flavors racing through, enhanced by a bright iron note and backed by a long floral edged finish.

This has the soil complexity and light touch of a top Burgundy. Boasts rare energy and subtle grip for South African Pinot noir.

Whatever the strengths or weaknesses of the 2015, Hamilton Russell is particularly enthusiastic about the just-released 2016 (Wine Cellar price: R440 a bottle) and I have to concur that it does seem to have greater firmness about it without becoming severe. The nose shows darker fruit, musk, herbs and attractive oak. Pure fruit and freshness but also nice tannic structure that suggests a long future.

The 2016 Hamilton Russell Vineyards Pinot noir is sourced from a 52 ha vineyard set on low-vigour, stony, clay-rich soil situated in the cooler maritime micro-climate of Hemel-en-Aarde Valley. Translucent in colour, this wine begins with earthy aromatics of forest floor and tobacco leaf, with red currants and red berries coming together in the glass. Lithe, with a strong salinity, the wine shows a core of cherry, red berries, sweet tobacco and pomegranate flavours that connect with beautiful tension and a long lingering finish. Overall this is another beautiful vintage for this Pinot noir and I expect this will only become more appealing as it evolves in the cellar.

Certainly not inexpensive but for those pinot lovers tirelessly searching for that one truly memorable, perspective changing find, you’ll be glad you spent the dollars. Hamilton Russell tries to avoid the “fruity” style of pinot noir and instead focuses a great deal of energy creating structure and length. The very low yields of their estate vineyards puts a microscope on the cool, maritime influenced climate resulting in a huge aromatic profile."

This welcome ethereal return of Hamilton Russell’s Hermanus benchmark pinot noir follows on the heels of the early-picked, dense, muscular and compressed 2015. Comfortable alcohol meets optimum phenolic ripeness so let’s think on it in terms of ’08 burgundy, though perhaps not as tight and classic. It should always be noted that all the HR grapes go into these wines, no reserve wines, no single-vineyard, no divergence from monopole.

The wine is very rich and intense on the nose, brimming with dried rose petals, lavender, cherry blossom and dried thyme and oregano herbs. The palate is super concentrated with sweet black cherry, graphite spice and grey slatey gravelly minerality. While this wine has more concentration than previous vintages, it also has restraint and dusty structured tannins that add a beautiful frame from which to hang the complex fruit adornments. There is a real gravitas, complexity and textured layers to this very ‘grown up’ wine. The finish is long and precise and just when you think the last word will be left on a mineral note, a burst of pithy juicy stony red cherry fruit kicks in to tantalise the palate. This is a great effort from winemaker Emul Ross and a killer wine that should age gracefully for 15+ years.