2019 Tapanappa Definitus Foggy Hill Pinot Noir

Fermented with 20% whole bunches and matured for 9 months in French oak barriques (30% new). Semi translucent dark red colour with a light red hue. Showing a perfumed like intensity are aromas of violets, red to dark cherries, strawberries and anise infused with dried clove. Forest floor and spicy vanillin cedar notes ensue. Delicious strawberry, rhubarb and red cherry fruits carry a supple yet fresh feel across the lighter bodied palate. Nuances of anise, subtle forest floor, dried clove and spicy vanillin cedar make an appearance on the back half. Lively acidity with fine grained tannins and a medium to long red fruited conclusion.
Drink over the next 6-8 years.
Alc. 13%

Other Reviews….
Bramble, briar and black tea aromatics set the scene for a very complex pinot that needs encouragement to release its perfume. Len Evans might well have used his expression of 'an old ladies hand bag' with this silky pinot, joining the ’17 as the best of the Foggy Hill pinots to date. Drink to 2039.
97 points
James Halliday's Top 100 Wines of 2022

There’s a lot of spice here, and autumnal effects, and general savouriness/earthiness in there with the fruit. I thought at first that it was peddling a bit too hard, but strangely enough the wine seemed to tighten and become more structural as it breathed, rather than the other way around, and as it did so I was turned more and more in its favour. This is a smoky, spicy Pinot Noir with rhubarb and red cherry flavours flowing into multi-layered sheets of savoured tannin. There’s little doubt that this will develop beautifully. Drink 2024-2029+
94 points
Campbell Mattinson – The Wine Front