2020 Crystallum Pinot Noir 'Peter Max'

100% Pinot Noir, sustainably grown and naturally fermented with 50% whole clusters. Extraction is kept to a minimum during active fermentation with a total of 4 weeks on the skins. Aged 12 months in French oak. This amazing South African Pinot drinks like Burgundy! Red cherry, cranberry, forest floor and delicate spice. The few years in bottle have softened up the stemmy tannins and turned the wine into a silky smooth mixture of fruit, earth and oak that’s simply delicious.  Medium bodied and bone dry.  Brothers Peter-Allan and Andrew are the third generation of Finlayson winemakers, with their father Peter recognized as one of South Africa’s most groundbreaking winemakers thanks to his pivotal role in founding Hamilton Russell Vineyards in 1977 and producing their first vintage of Pinot Noir in 1981.

92 points, Vinous. "The 2020 Peter Max felt quite austere on the nose, more so than the 2019 that I had tasted 3-4 days previously. This demands coaxing, eventually revealing brambly red fruit, briar, damp moss and then later hints of morello cherries. The palate is medium-bodied with supple tannins, taut and crisp delivering very pure tart red fruit. This is an attractive "bite" toward the finish, which is structured like a Morey-Saint-Denis, the lingering salinity urging you back. Excellent, but give it a couple of years for the aromatics to fully open."