Pinot Noir is the friend of good people with fine educated palates, the friend of lovers of nuance, the friend of those who love to share beauty.
This praise song from Baptiste Quinard’s ‘Pinot Noir is an Aristocrat’ is but one of many odes reflecting the passion Pinot aficionados have for what must be one of the world’s most desirable wine cultivars. Indeed, the Pinot Noir star has been on the rise for many a moon, with the wines enjoying ever brighter limelight from critics in the know.
It is a well-known fact that the Hemel-en-Aarde with its cool climate and clay-rich soils is eminently suited to the cultivation of top quality Pinot Noir. And every year the producers join forces to celebrate their love for this highly revered cultivar. The tenth Hemel-en-Aarde Pinot Noir Celebration takes place on Saturday, 28th January and tickets are already sold out!
Since the first Creation Pinot Noir release in 2010, many prestigious accolades have testified to the elegance and finesse of these wines. Among the latest is a coveted 5-star rating in the 2023 Platter’s South African Wine Guide for the single-site Creation Art of Pinot Noir 2021. Rated at 96 points, the wine is elegant and beautifully scented with fine-grained tannins and good concentration.
Pinot Noir is of course Cellarmaster Jean-Claude Martin’s favourite cultivar. He loves drinking it, he loves growing it and he loves making it! Small wonder there are no less than four award-winning Pinot Noirs in the portfolio: the Creation Art of Pinot Noir, the Emma’s Pinot Noir, the Creation Reserve Pinot Noir and the Creation Estate Pinot Noir.
Asked to comment on Creation’s peak Pinot performance, Jean-Claude says: “At Creation we plant to grow old. Our vines are now 20 years old and as our vineyards mature so the quality of the grapes becomes better and better. Our philosophy is based on ‘working alongside, and expressing the beauty of nature’. When you are harvesting quality fruit, guide it gently through the winemaking process so as to preserve the sense of place.”
Wise words from a winemaker who indeed makes poetry in a bottle!
