This gorgeous Pinot Noir from Larry Cherubino is made with fruit from the Great Southern region of Western Australia. The nose shows graphite and minerals, juicy black cherries with a hint of spicy oak plays a supporting role. The palate is softly textured, fresh and vibrant, the flavours of black cherry and earthy beetroot carried along by a fine acid finish.
Wine Heroes
This page is dedicated to our wine heroes – the wines, winery, winemakers that have shaped our vinous journey over the past 20 years.
We followed, bought and collected all the wines that feature on this page for many years and their quality vintage upon vintage is without question.
In short, these are the wines we drink, and we hope you will love them as much as we do.
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2021 ‘Origin’ Pinot Noir, Saint Clair
£2075Add to BasketDark garnet colour in the glass with aromas layered with blueberry and blackcurrant fruits, intermingled with dark chocolate aromas. The palate is concentrated and fruit-driven with ripe red berries and dark fruits filling the senses. Delicate tannin and savoury oak notes to finish. Well-matched with garlic and rosemary lamb rack with a side of fresh lettuce and pistachio salad.
Drinking beautifully now, this wine can be enjoyed young or with careful cellaring will mature into a more complex wine that can be enjoyed for the next three years.
The fruit is sourced from a number of specifically chosen low cropping vineyards from the Southern Valleys region of the Wairau Plain. The vines are grown in very clay-rich, vigour moderating soils. Each vineyard is closely monitored and tasted to determine when the flavours were at their optimum and harvested in the cool of the morning.
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2019 The Feral Fox Pinot Noir, d’Arenberg
£2095Add to BasketFabulous! This wine sings in the glass. Gently poached strawberry compote with twists of maraschino cherry. Given time in the glass will leave you wanting more. As it opens the palate offers touches of truffle, spice and forest floor adding layers of serious complexity. A bright acid backbone is a guarantee that this wine will develop with attitude and grace. Classic Adelaide Hills Pinot Noir.
THE NAME: The feral foxes that inhabit the Adelaide Hills have developed an appetite for grapes and can often be found eating low hanging bunches during vintage. Chester says that he is nor bothered by this as these bushy-tailed critters act as crop thinners and enhance the quality of grapes that are too high for them to reach. It also has the secondary effect of providing a natural source of fertilisation when the laxative nature of the grapes take effect on the normally carnivorous foxes.
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2022 Laissez Faire Pinot Noir, Larry Cherubino
£2650Add to BasketEarthy beetroot, red cherry and red/flowery fruit bouquet are supported by spicy oak aromas. The palate follows suit with beetroot, cherry and flowery/red fruit, fine tannins and a soft texture
Laissez-Faire means “let it be” and this reflects the hands-off approach that winemaker Larry Cherubino employs. He has learnt from organics, bio-dynamics and natural wine practices, but is not dictated by one school of thought. Larrys says ‘ We don’t subscribe to dogma. You could call them natural wines, but we like to think of them as post-natural wines. We believe in healthy and sustainable vineyard practices and winemaking transparency with as little as possible between the vine and finished wine‘
In the Laissez-Faire wines, there’s no added tannin, or acid, or animal fining products. There is zero sulfur used throughout the winemaking and only a minimal amount at bottling. They are using alternate varieties and blends to make naturally balanced wines. From vine to bottle, the wine takes its course, hands-free. The wines are also vegan friendly.
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2013 Eileen Hardy Pinot Noir, Hardys
£3750Add to BasketThis fabulous Pinot Noir from Hardy’s is at its absolute peak now and is an incredible glass of wine. Medium red in colour with vibrant hues with a perfumed, rich and complex nose full of star anise spice and red fruit intermingled with black cherry, blueberry, plum and harmonious oak influence. The use of whole bunches in the press adds subtle complexity. The palate is a mirror image of the bouquet: this wine has a superb length of flavour, a wonderful sweet fruit overlay, mineral acid drive and silky fine tannins.
This really is worthy of your time!
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2018 Estate Grown Pinot Noir, Sleepy Hollow Vineyard, Talbott
£4250Add to BasketTalbott Vineyards is defined by its iconic Sleepy Hollow Vineyard, where the conditions are ideal for exceptional, cool-climate Pinot Noir. Located in the northern area of the Santa Lucia Highlands AVA in Monterey County, it has been designated one of California’s Grand Cru vineyards by Wine Enthusiast in 2016, for its ability to produce exceptional wines year after year. The vines were first planted in 1972 at an elevation of 168 metres and cover 228 hectares. Due to the proximity of the Pacific Ocean and the east-to-northeasterly exposure, cooling fog and frequent ocean breezes temper the warm sunshine, giving Sleepy Hollow one of the longest growing seasons in California and allowing each grape to develop concentrated flavours.
This Pinot Noir offers a distinct earthiness, minerality with hints of nutmeg and clove mingling with notes of ripe black cherry, raspberry and vanilla bean to deliver a rich, mouth-filling texture through to a complex finish.
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2011 Pinot Noir ‘Museum Release’, Dog Point Vineyard
£4950Add to BasketDog Point has since their first vintage in 2002, set aside a limited quantity of each vintage for later release, with this 2011 being the latest release from their museum.
In its prime now this wonderful Marlborough Pinot Noir is a deep ruby in the glass, with aromas of spice and ripe red fruits imbued with hints of leather and mushroom, together with subtle spicy oak savouriness. On the palate, deliciously flavoured with intense red fruits, subtle sweetness and excellent balance. Well-integrated oak leads to a delicate lingering soft, supple finish.
Dog Point Pinot is similar in production to some of the great houses of Burgundy and is made using 75% destemmed grapes and 25% whole bunches, which spends a total of 18 months in oak (30% new).
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2018 Pinot Noir ‘Clonal Selection’, Kershaw
£5200Add to BasketA world-class Pinot Noir from Richard Kershaw M.W and easily one of South Africa’s best. This Pinot Noir is characterised by its captivating floral attributes underscored by purity, focus and freshness framed by fine powder tannins yet cushioned by a succulent texture and flavours of black cherry, pomegranate, rose petal and raspberry. Only 8056 bottles & 33 Magnums produced.
The grapes come from 11 tiny vineyard parcels in several locations in the Elgin Valley. Elgin is the coolest wine region in South Africa and is situated on an inland, hexagonal-shaped plateau, at an altitude of 300 metres. The region is surrounded by mountains and lies just over six miles from the Atlantic Ocean, which brings occasional sea-borne mists. February is the hottest month of the year, with daytime temperatures peaking at 23°C and night-time temperatures dipping to 14°C. The benefit of this cooler climate is that the grape cluster stays connected to its roots for longer, so it develops complex characteristics and achieves physiological ripeness more gradually, resulting in lower sugar levels and consequently lower alcohol levels.
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2019 Pinot Noir, Dog Point Vineyard – Magnum
£7995Add to BasketThis beguiling Magnum of Pinot Noir from the excellent 2019 vintage has outstanding depth of colour for Pinot Noir displaying an opaque dark red-black core with a dark red-purple hue. The powerfully scented nose is dominated by ripe black cherry and dark plum aromas laced with anise over toasty cedar, light earth and spice. The palate is rich and concentrated that’s filled with dark and black cherry flavours, dark plums and anise underpinned by scorched earth and spicy cedar. Sturdy but fine-grained tannins provide some underlying muscle to the fruit. Excellent power with a long finish of dark and black fruits, anise, scorched earth and spicy cedar. Will improve for 6-8 years.
