Riposte The Sabre Pinot Noir 2023

Adelaide Hills Pinot is in its element, glistening in red-red hues and carrying a lively perfume of red cherry, cranberry, earthy rhubarb, musk and pressed flowers. It’s quite a compact, lightly savoury, herbal-red berried, sinewy-tight pinot, pretty typically Hills Pinot in character despite this being one heck of a nerve-wracking kind of vintage. There was rain, lots of it. No matter, The Sabre cut through it all and arrives on the other side vivacious and delicious to boot. The palate explores dried herbs with rose hip, cranberry and cherry fruits in tow. The structure is interesting, it’s sinewy and earthy, dressed in savoury tannins. Finishes with some smooth vanillin oak. Moderate cellaring could be called for.