100% Abel clone seeing 42% new French oak for 19 months - and it shows...
Concentrated and muscular, it's a warming embrace on a cool night. That hug from an old friend you haven't seen for a while. There is certainly nothing shy here as it bursts through the door.
New Zealand Pinots are proven to drink beautifully with age and perhaps this will show much better in 5+ years. Structural with a sinew feel, it is packed with black fruit, dark cherries and freeze-dried raspberries. Fine spices and dried herbs are scattered around a persistent finish but that fog of oak just won't lift. I had this in the glass for half an hour (constantly swirling) and it didn't move much - I suspect that may have been different had I not been tasting this at Torbreck's portfolio launch and with more time on my side. For what's in my glass now, it hasn't wowed me, but I'd be curious to see it once the magic of bottle age has done its thing.
Drink 2026 to ten years+
91/100
Source: Sample
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