An elite microcosm of the Foggy Hill site. The best strip, so to speak. I prefer this to the '17. More integrated, compact, layered and detailed. The tension, curtailing the ripe and inherently sweet fruit. The oak, tannic extract and judicious whole bunch amalgamating as a finely tuned structural skein, corralling the billowing sweet berry fruit, root spice and undergrowth scents. The finish long and generous, yet nothing overt. This is mid-weighted and far from shy, but there is plenty in store embedded in the structural timbre.
96 points Ned Goodwin MW winecompanion.com.au 1 August 2020
Medium to deep ruby colour with purple tints and a complex bouquet of smoky, vegetal, possibly whole-bunch fermented characters, some notes of char-grilled vegetables, all melded with raspberry-like fruit aromas. Hints of humus and Campari. The wine is intense and medium to full-bodied, well-structured and firm but not overly tannic for its fruit-weight. Succulent sweet-fruit centre. A delicious glass of pinot, with the structure to take some age well. (777 and 115 clones. 20% whole-bunches, aged in 30% new French oak for 9 months)
95 points Huon Hooke therealreview.com FEB 2021 Drink 2021–2031
There are four hectares of pinot noir growing on the Foggy Hill vineyard; this is from a one-hectare strip. It’s planted at a density of 4444 vines/hectare, using clones 115 and 777, all planted on rootstock.
Firm, ripe and convincing. Cedarwood oak shows keenly but fruit-derived flavours are yet myriad. Dry tobacco, garden herbs, beet notes, a luscious almost jellied berry character, woodsmoke and anise. There’s a smoky, twiggy bitterness to the aftertaste and it’s a most pleasant thing; it helps elevate it. This wine has the structure to age but I’m not convinced its a long termer; the next handful of years though will be good ones.