The following 2019 Henry of Pelham (Speck Family Reserve) Pinot Noir is barely a teenager, though strutting its stuff now and certainly flashing signs of an enhanced future after even short-term cellaring. Sourced from older vines—some shovel planted 35 years before this fruit was harvested—that are sustainably grown under, and accredited by, SWM. Fruit was hand harvested, gently destemmed and mechanically sorted. It was then stainless steel vat fermented with the cap punched down by hand. It was then aged in European oak, 30% new then married together with the balance in pre-loved oak with total oak maturation being ten months.

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Henry of Pelham (Speck Family Reserve) Pinot Noir 2019
VQA Short Hills Bench $34.95 (657874) 13.0% alcohol
Grilled savoury herbs and mixed spice aromas mingle with red berry fruit on the nose of this young and fresh pinot. A lively flow of flavours race over the palate with crunchy pie cherry and passionfruit intertwined with sweet black plum and hints of black cherry along with savoury herbs and a firm tannin underpinning. There’s replays of palate flavours and mouth-watering tang on the lengthy finish. Time in the cellar should pay off handsomely, pick up a few and pour starting in 2023. Impatient? Aerate/decant three hours and pour alongside roast fowl with all the fixings. (Vic Harradine)