Jonathan Ray
Wine Club: six sought-after bottles you won’t find anywhere else
Anthony and Olive Hamilton Russell love The Spectator and we love them. They have hosted more Spectator Winemaker Lunches than any other producer (they’ll be in our boardroom again next week) and it was only the afterglow of the splendidly bibulous Spectator/Hamilton Russell dinner at Tate Britain the night before lockdown that kept me going during the dark days that followed.
Anthony is a long-time subscriber to our organ and, through the kind offices of Laura Taylor – marketing director of Private Cellar – who has known and admired AHR and his remarkable wines for 25 years, he has paid us the enormous compliment of offering the latest vintages to us and us alone.
For the next four weeks, The Spectator will be the only place in the world – other than direct from the winery itself – through which to buy the following bottles and so sought-after are they, so darn tasty and in such strictly limited quantities that I strongly suggest you get cracking pretty damned quick if you’re interested. Once they’re gone, they’re gone.
As you know, Hamilton Russell Vineyards and the associated estates of Ashbourne and Southern Right are located in the Hemel-en-Aarde Valley near Hermanus, Walker Bay, South Africa – and the wines have some claim to be the finest in their respective categories in all the Cape.
The 2021 Southern Right Sauvignon Blanc (1) is worthy successor to the 2019 vintage, named one of the Wine Spectator’s Top 100 Wines. Using grapes sourced half from clay and half from sandstone soils the wine was fermented slowly using natural yeasts before spending time in old oak barrels. The result is fresh, zesty and lively with hints of lemon, asparagus and crisp green apple. It makes a great glass of wine and is Olive HR’s go-to aperitif. £12.
The 2020 Southern Right Pinotage (2) continues Anthony’s painstaking rehabilitation of this much-maligned grape variety. Where once Pinotage was invariably compared (unfavourably) with burned rubber, it now shines and here in the hands of winemaker Emul Ross could pass for a top Cru Beaujolais or Loire Valley Chinon. It has great freshness and an abundance of luscious red fruit and I could hardly stop myself gulping it down. £21.
The 2021 Ashbourne Sandstone (3) is a canny blend of Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay and Semillon and was the first wine in South Africa to be fermented and aged in amphorae. It’s a joy to drink with white peach notes, spice, lemon thyme, lemon verbena and heady herbs in the mix. £17.
The 2019 Ashbourne Pinotage (4) is, quite simply, stunning and if there’s a finer expression of Pinotage I’d be amazed. It has the acidity of a fine Barbera, the texture of a great Rhône and the complexity of a top Bordeaux. With 18 months in oak (two types and sizes) and a year in bottle, it’s rich, pure, elegant and will last forever. Only 200 cases made. £47.
According to Anthony, the 2021 Hamilton Russell Vineyards Chardonnay (5) is their best ever (and no, he doesn’t always say that). Produced using minuscule yields of just 16 hectolitres per hectare, it’s multi-layered in its complexity: one moment austere and one moment voluptuous. Richly concentrated, it’s both creamy and citrusy and I marvel at its exquisite balance. £36.
Finally, the 2021 Hamilton Russell Vineyards Pinot Noir (6), the most sensuous of wines. Strikingly pale in the glass, it gives little away on the nose. In the mouth, though, there is ripe red fruit at the fore and rich, dark fruit on the finish. There’s a cranberry tartness to it and a hint of salted liquorice. It has a Vosne-Romanée sensuality and I know you’ll forgive me for having taken advantage of my place at the head of the queue and nabbing a box. £39.
All wines are offered in unmixed boxes of six and delivery (which will take place in April – the wines are currently en route) is, as ever, free.
