Hamilton Russell Vineyards Pinot Noir - as good as ever?

Last year, Hemel-en-Aarde Valley Hamilton Russell Vineyards celebrated 30 consecutive vintages of its Pinot Noir. In that time, the wine has won countless accolades including the 2001 vintage being awarded the trophy for best in class at the 2003 International Wine & Spirit Competition, the 1997 and 2003 rating 5 Stars in Platter’s and the 1999, 2000 and 2001 winning double gold at Veritas.

A decade ago, HRV was unquestionably at the forefront of South African Pinot Noir but can the same still be said now? The 2007 rated 3½ Stars in the May 2009 issue of Wine magazine while the 2008 and 2009 both rated 2½ Stars in the May 2010 issue. In a tasting conducted for the June 2011 issue (on sale: 23 May), it can be revealed that a year in bottle has served the 2009 well and it now rates 3½ Stars, but it’s still not top of the pile.

HRV owner Anthony Hamilton Russell is unperturbed. “I’ve engaged international markets for the better part of 20 years, and our wine remains extremely well received, the general feeling being that it is the most Burgundian example of Pinot Noir from the New World”.

And the wine’s continued high profile translates into good business, as Hamilton Russell points out: “Annual production is 6 000 cases which we sell at R285 a bottle. It’s unusual to be able sell such quantities at that price”.

The local Pinot Noir category is in a state of flux, Hamilton Russell concedes. “South Africa is at an exciting stage. The new plantings that are coming on line mean that we now have a much wider stylistic spectrum than before.”

But isn’t this precisely the problem? Whereas a decade ago, there was no-one to touch Hamilton Russell Vineyards and neighbor Bouchard Finlayson, there are now a whole bunch of producers who are challenging hard (Chamonix, Newton Johnson, and Paul Cluver, for instance).

Needless to say, Hamilton Russell is very happy with where his wine sits on this spectrum, suggesting that it has more “savoury” (and hence Burgundian) aromas and flavours. He regards many of his competitors, meanwhile, as making wines that are “soft, easy, fruit forward and without disturbing tannins”. In a word, more New World, and the reason that HRV does not enjoy quite the same critical acclaim it used to in South Africa is because the national palate is increasingly more New World leaning.

But hang on a second, the HRV Chardonnay has arguably never been more celebrated than it is right now (5 Stars for the 2008 in the November 2009 issue of Wine, 4½ Stars in November 2010) and yet it could hardly be termed “New World”?

“It’s easier to like white Burgundy,” says Hamilton Russell. “It takes a firmer aesthetic divide in the mind to opt for the savoury aspects and tightness of classically styled Pinot Noir [over the uncomplicated palatability of more modern versions].

Not surprisingly, Hamilton Russell won’t tolerate the idea of tweaking his Pinot Noir to be more populist in appeal. “That would not be true to our terroir. Our Pinot grows on heavy clay and that’s where it gets its structure from. It’s crucial that we play to the right audience. If we moved away from our established style, we’d be letting down our supporters all over the world”.

This invocation of place is not simply for sentimental reasons. “If I want to superior margins from my wine, then I must make something that is more than varietal wine. Varietal wine necessarily becomes a commodity on the basis that you can get it just about anywhere and then there is no premium.”

So, rather than be worried about ratings, Hamilton Russell is hell bent on getting the best articulation of the site that is Hamilton Russell Vineyards through his wine. “Five or six local critics should not be dictating the business direction for HRV. I’m thrilled with the direction that our Pinot is taking, both philosophically and financially”.

For more by Christian Eedes, visit www.whatIdranklastnight.co.za