Riposte THE Pinot Noir 2024

A statement Pinot Noir from veteran winemaker Tim Knappstein and son Nick, establishing the wine, and variety, in the upper echelon of great Australian red wines where we are perhaps more used to seeing Shiraz and Cabernet as the established crowning glories. Clearly, to develop such a wine requires total commitment from vineyard/fruit selection to the most skilled and focused winemaking. Does THE Pinot Noir live up to its ambition, one may ask. Answer: Absolutely. The depths of colour, within a Pinot spectrum, and aromas, speak volumes: black cherry, cocoa, dark mint, and dried shiitake lift out of the complex of fruit and savoury elements that then settle deeply into the core of the wine, pulsating sweet, dark cherry with satsuma plum like acidity attracting particular notice. Purity above all. It’s how the palate structure states its case even further, some oak spice woven into a glove of sticky tannins, enough to be serious yet pliable for a reverberating finish. The work here – three vineyard selections including blocks at Lenswood and Piccadilly, with just three barrels out of more than 60 making the final cut, is repaid with a Hills Pinot Noir of immense stature.