2014 Kusuda Pinot Noir

Pale cherry red. So pretty and charming on the nose. Silky sweet red fruit, though not as sweet as the Bell Hill 2014. Incredibly gentle and perfumed but very persistent. On second tasting you can see the depth and structure even though it is so gently presented – a very light touch. Deliciously fresh. Builds in the mouth and so long. (JH)

Hiro picked relatively early in March and left the really ripe bunches on the vine. 93% destemmed. Matured for 15 months in French oak, 26% new. 6,221 bottles produced. Light crimson. Lean and lively, juicy and unlike the other 2014s I have been tasting with very dry tannins. Round and fresh. Red fruits. Featherlight. (JR)

The Abel clone represents 23%, the total of all Dijon clones is 63% (113, 114, 115, 667, 777). Others are UCD 5, 6, 10-5, Mariafield. An unusual vintage and one of the earliest vintages experienced by Hiro Kusuda, with picking starting on 12 March (in 2012 it was 9 April!). Hand-picked with rigorous and careful selection, and hand-sorted with extreme precision. 93% destemmed, cold soaked for three to 10 days without crushing. Fermented in open stainless-steel vats with pumping-over and hand-plunging, total period of maceration 23-29 days. Aged in French (26% new) oak barriques for 15 months. Unfined and bottled after coarse filtration. 520 dozen bottles produced. TA 5.6 g/l. Light ruby. Sweet and spicy. Lots of life and a little vegy twang to this. Very youthful without any obvious oak. Dry finish. Serious stuff but too young and bony for the moment. (JR)