A five bottle wooden case with a vertical of Hamilton Russell Vineyards Pinot noir

 the 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013 and 2014 is now available for sale

To celebrate their milestone of 35 vintages of Pinot noir, Hamilton Russell Vineyards has just released their second five bottle (half decade) vertical of Pinot noir, with each vintage - 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014 - carrying a specially chosen or commissioned South African artwork as a back label. 

1,200 bottles of each vintage from 2010 were held back for the project, for a total of 1,200 five bottle cases. Each year only one fifth of the wine (240 five bottle cases) will be made available, but the price is expected to increase each year in line with the holding costs. This is to ensure that at least something is available each year until the next half-decade vertical has built up for release. 50% will be sold locally and 50 % internationally.

Proprietor, Anthony Hamilton Russell, said:  “while many enthusiasts have cellared Hamilton Russell Vineyards Pinot noir over the years, there are still a lot who only encounter the wine at a youthful stage. This vertical allows enthusiasts to really get to know our Pinot noir and its story of place over time and through different life stages.

Since the first Pinot noir plantings on Hamilton Russell Vineyards in 1976 and from the release of our first vintage in 1981, many very able people have been involved in what has been a pioneering and extraordinary endeavour. Each of our wines however, has first and foremost been an expression of place - more than of people or of grape variety - and second to that an expression of vintage.

52 hectares of ancient, extremely clay-rich, stony soils on a 170 hectare Estate in the beautiful Hemel-en-Aarde Valley, surrounded by fynbos nature reserve and unusually close to the cold Atlantic, where the wines are grown, made, matured, bottled and labeled on the property. Our Pinot noir is an expression of this place. From the outset this expression has showcased an almost uniquely classic and “European” style within the New World, with each vintage showcasing it in a subtly different way. This is something which has excited wine collectors and Pinot noir enthusiasts - particularly Burgundy enthusiasts - for 30 vintages.”

The artworks on the back labels are by the following artists:

            2010 – Heike Davis

            2011 – Piet van Heerden

            2012 – Jan Vermeiren

            2013 – Stefan Ampenberger

            2014 – Arabella Caccia

For purchases or information please contact Talita Engelbrecht on + (27) 28 312 3595 or hrv@hermanus.co.za The cellar door price for the vertical is R3,000.

A passion for wine is best indulged promiscuously. Few, if any, enthusiasts would build up a cellar of just one wine. Variety of origin, style, age and grape keep this passion alive and keep the experience pleasurable, explorative and informative.

It is my belief however, that to maximize the pleasure of a lifetime of enthusiastic wine consumption one needs to add a few long-term relationships to an otherwise promiscuous indulgence. Wines that can be followed, vintage after vintage and experienced at several different stages of development. A much more profound pleasure and depth of understanding develops from this.

For me, the best wines to form a proper relationship with are those that tell a story of place with a style that one finds aesthetically pleasing. Wines that are more expressions of grape variety than site can be easily substituted. Wines that tell the story of the people behind them more than the place, can vary with whims, egos and life-stages.

Since the first Pinot noir plantings on Hamilton Russell Vineyards in 1976 and from the release of our first vintage in 1981, many very able people have been involved in what has been a pioneering and extraordinary endeavour. Each of our wines however, has first and foremost been an expression of place and second to that an expression of vintage.

To many aficionados, no grape unlocks all the mystery and beauty of site and soil quite like Pinot noir - and no grape communicates all this, along with the drama of the season and vintage, quite as articulately.

52 hectares of ancient, extremely clay-rich, stony soils on a 170 hectare Estate in the beautiful Hemel-en-Aarde Valley, surrounded by fynbos nature reserve and unusually close to the cold Atlantic, where the wines are grown, made, matured, bottled and labeled on the property. Our Pinot noir is an expression of this place. From the outset this expression has showcased an almost uniquely classic and “European” style within the New World, with each vintage showcasing it in a subtly different way. This is something which has excited wine collectors and Pinot noir enthusiasts - particularly Burgundy enthusiasts - for 35 vintages.