How much? R265;
Where? Hamilton Russell Vineyards (HRV), Hemel & Aarde Veranda, 27 (0)28 312 3595;
Why? When Galileo described wine as “light held together by moisture” he couldn’t have had this benchmark Pinot Noir in mind as it was on the flip side of the flat earth and several centuries in the future. A Hemel & Aarde sunset would be the right light for this wine as the flavours are senescent, overripe just before they tumble into decay and oh so sexy for that.

Anthony Hamilton Russell selling wine to Alan Pick

It is also a playful slap in the face to those pundits like Spectator wine guru Simon Hoggart who think that vintage is not important. At least this is the message I picked up from his top 100 wines called Life’s too short to drink bad wine that is seriously vintage challenged.

This HRV 2009 Pinot is quite different to its predecessor, changing sex even. An electric, muscular Pommard in comparison and contrast to a big-boob Gevrey-Chambertin of 2008. There are 13 eights on the bottom of each bottle to stop them skidding off the bottling line and a subtle subliminal cue to Dan Brown devotees as eight is a magic number for Chinese geomancers.

Proprietor Anthony Hamilton Russell declares there are three kinds of wine: people wines like those of Eben Sadie, varietal wines like a grassy Sauvignon Blanc and place wines like those green pepper jobs from Darling. Hammo calls his Pinot a place wine, which it undoubtedly is, but the sixth star in any rating comes from association with the outrageously outspoken Hammo whose description of the Cape Winemakers Guild as “a bunch of guys with midlife crises selling wine to Alan Pick” confirms that the CWG has no monopoly on the crown jewels of SA wine or the contents of Alan’s capacious cellar.

Rating: *****

*****: Caravaggio
****: Michelangelo
***: Pavarotti
**: Lucrezia Borgia
*: Berlusconi