2021 Kusuda Pinot Noir

The 2021 Pinot Noir was released September 2023. This is superb. Wow. There's red cherry, peppercorns (pink and black in equal measure), pomegranate pearls and a hint of savory/umami characters woven through the finish. I love the star anise and clove, with togarashi and blood orange, black sesame, etc. This is fine-boned and delicate, but this is not a "weight issue," rather this is a structural framework descriptor. The wine feels weightless, ductile and fresh. The finish is long and persistent. A beauty. "A ripper" we might say in Australia. Sealed under 54-millimeter cork.

The 2021 Pinot Noir is gorgeously textured and harmonious. There's a sense of calm in this wine and sumptuous depth of fruit. It was a small-berried vintage creating an abundance of tannins, but they are captured within the rich body of the wine, leaving the drinker licking the cocoa-powder-like coating left on their lips, rather than chewing them. The finish is lengthy, savory and exotically spiced while leaving a pure, damson-like fruit fragrance. I see this blossoming in the coming 5-9 years.