JAMESSUCKLING.COM – NICK STOCK JULY 2019

2017 Pinot Noir Casteel – 95
A beautifully composed wine from the outset, offering ripe dark cherries, swathed in assertively toasty complexity with wild herbs and bracken. This is really fresh with a handsomely savory thread. The palate has a smooth, sleek and polished feel with a seamless build of tannin that carries plenty of rich flavor into the defined and powerful finish. Drink or hold.

2017 Pinot Noir Flat Block – 95
Seductively complex already, this has an earthy and gently spicy edge with dry stones and a web of herbal notes, as well as a very fluid, precise and attractively fleshy core of pure red cherries. Silky and focused. Pommard clone, planted in 1979 on own roots in shallow, volcanic soil. Drink or hold.

2017 Chardonnay Casteel- 94
There’s a wealth of complexity and impressive, concentrated fruit here. Aromas of pears and baked apples, as well as lime, lead to a palate with smooth and alluringly fleshy build and concentrated, melon and spiced-pear flavors. So smooth and impressively long. Drink over the next five years.

2017 Chardonnay Justice Vineyard-94
From the adjoining block and plantings from between 1999 and 2006, this has a quite pared-back feel. Sleek and attractively composed and chiseled with fragrant grapefruit, lemons and white peaches. Very refined palate that has fresh and smoothly rendered texture. Toasted almonds and lemon rind to close. Drink over the next five years.

2017 Pinot Noir Southeast Block- 94
There’s a strong thread of violet-like florals here, together with fresh blueberries and attractively spicy complexity. The palate delivers richness and depth with very round, assertively fleshy fruit texture and a long, velvety finish. Drink over the next eight years.

2017 Pinot Noir West Block – 94
There’s a savory edge to the nose here with an exotically fragrant notes of pomegranates, blood-oranges and red cherries. The palate has a brightly expressed sense of purity and focus with silky, fine tannins, holding long on the finish. The oldest vines on the estate, planted in 1977 on own roots. Impressive cut and depth here. Drink or hold.

2017 Pinot Noir Estate- 93
A very foresty array of red berries, leaves and herbs with woody spices, all making for a complex proposition. The palate has a nicely contained feel with a fluid build of red to darker cherries, in a very approachable mode. Nicely cast tannin at the finish, which holds well. Drink or hold.

2017 Chardonnay Estate- 93
Attractive, pear and chamomile-flower aromas with a fresh array of lemons, grapefruit and melon. The palate has great depth and focus with a juicy, fresh and lithe run to the finish. Long and sustained. Drink or hold.