Like in Burgundy, every vintage in the Hemel-en-Aarde Valley is slightly different, and thankfully after several consecutive small vintages, the Pinot Noir volumes started to recover in 2025 and 2026. Luckily, Anthony Hamilton Russell and Emul Ross have produced one of their finest Pinot Noirs in possibly a decade, the aromatics restrained, delicately perfumed and slightly stony before hints of pink musk, red apple, red and black cherry and notes of small wild strawberries. On the palate, the oak is fully integrated and absorbed by the pure fruit concentration, the terroir minerality showing a steely vein of nervy freshness and the linear acids giving way to tart red berries, cranberries, and bright red bramble berry fruits. A very pretty, triumphant Pinot Noir with stony mineral tannins lining the wine’s textural pathway, finishing with intensity and clarity.

“Forward fruit flavours don’t come easily here,” says Anthony Hamilton Russell, whose Pinot
Noir can often be backward and slightly earthy in its youth. This is a blend of the 113, 115 and
667 clones, showing deftly handled 25% new oak, slightly ferrous top notes of blood and root
vegetables, layers of plum and black cherry and complex, savoury, well-integrated tannins.

Anthony Hamilton Rus­sell is one of the most urbane and cour­teous fel­lows in the Cape. While all around him middle-aged, cre­at­ively hir­sute, boho-wine­makers con­sume much of South Africa’s wine oxy­gen, AHR ploughs a thor­oughly civ­il­ised fur­row, craft­ing wines of uncom­mon refine­ment and global appeal. Since he assumed respons­ib­il­ity for his estate back in 1991, the chardon­nays and pinots here have under­gone a gradual, unre­lent­ing refine­ment, attain­ing world-class notori­ety, yet prices remain fair and unusu­ally enti­cing. Only the other day, Anthony showed me pre­views of his 2025 chardon­nay and 2025 pinot noir. Arriv­ing in April, these are finely wrought, min­eral-soaked, ultra­soph­ist­ic­ated wines with tran­scend­ent fla­vours. You should seek them out when they arrive. They will drink well from the off and age per­fectly for five years. At around £45 a throw, they ought to be atop your Bur­gundy-style wish list.

After tasting these in the office earlier this week with the team, I could not agree more. The 2025 releases are superb wines which can certainly give Burgundy a run for its money!

Beautiful, dark cherry fruit on the nose, fine and lifted. Lovely depth on the palate with a host of summer berry fruit flavours, all kept in check with bright acidity and fine, malleable tannins. The finish is long and exceptionally well balanced, leaving one reaching for another sip!

Fragrant with notes of chopped rosemary, mace and crushed gravel, this layered red offers dark fruit elements of macerated black cherry, black raspberry and plum. Fresh, finely detailed and framed by taut tannins, with sweet fruit and red licorice accents through the finish.

This has a very promising nose: much more lift, purity and exuberance than the '23 that I tasted at the estate a year ago, with blackberry and wild strawberry mixed with a little violet. The palate is medium-bodied with slightly sappy red fruit, nicely balanced, with good body and a prickle of pepperiness on the finish. It has the substance to reward ageing in bottle but you could broach this straight away if inclined. Very fine.

Still remarkably youthful, with brambleberries, pomegranate, blueberries, cedarwood box, and nutmeg. Well-structured and supple, with firm tannins providing a solid backbone. Concentrated, vibrant and tightly knit, with plenty of potential for further development.