This is a clever wine, in a lot of ways. It's pretty hard to find great pinot noir at the moment. The last few vintages have been tough, and getting maximum flavour with a minimal pricetag is a near impossible task. One clever way to build texture and complexity in pinot noir is to partially ferment the whole berry clusters. The producer of this wine employed this method with 30% of the fruit before letting the wine age in 50% new French oak. What’s in the bottle is elegant, yet concentrated. Fruit is expressed as cherries, plums and strawberries and there are secondary notes of spice and earth. You’ll feel semi-serious drinking this lovely pinot, even if it is a Tuesday night in your PJs.

The words 'densely fruited' rarely lead a pinot noir tasting note but, here we are: densely fruited and medium bodied (nearing full), this wine means business. Raspberry, plum, black cherry - the development of the fruit profile is something to behold. It ain't all fruit, though, there's nettle, some mascarpone, sappy twigs, vanilla, and spice to be discovered, too. All of this complexity speaks to quality, if you let this wine open up in the glass (no need to decant, but be sure to give it a little slosh about) you'll be rewarded with little pockets of curiosity unfolding before your very eyes.

This wine is enormous fun - light, bright, sappy, floral, confected, a little bunch. There is complexity for days. The fruit weight is complete and satisfying and, while it remains light bodied (as pinot classically and varietally should) it feels complete and satisfying on the palate. There is bricky, savoury back palate nuance which puts a nice little bow on the mid-palate fruit, punctuating it and acting as a counterpoint to the pep of the acidity. It feels – and is – expertly crafted at every step.