2023, Creation Wines 'Art of Pinot Noir' Walker Bay
Tim Atkin MW 95 (2024)
Mix any six bottles and 15% comes off at checkout — no code needed.
At a glance
- Grape
- Pinot Noir 100%
- Region
- Walker Bay, South Africa
- Alcohol
- 13.50%
- Body
- Medium
- Acidity
- High
- Tannins
- Medium
- Sweetness
- Dry
- Drink
- Long (10-20 yrs)
- Pairs with
- Poultry & Pork, Risotto, Cheese
Why this wine
Pinot Noir is the hardest grape to grow well outside Burgundy, and this stretch of coast is one of a handful of places in the southern hemisphere where it consistently works. Red-fruited and savoury rather than jammy. The benchmark for South African Pinot.
Our advantages:
Description
How it tastes
Complex, velvety, and utterly enchanting, with layers of cherry and plum mingling with earthy flavours of mushroom and an elegant touch of spice. Perfumed and expressive, combining cherry, plum, and forest floor notes with mushroom and baking spice. Silky and layered, offering red fruit purity over earthy and spicy undertones. Hand-harvested fruit (60% whole bunch) underwent spontaneous fermentation in large foudres before 12 months maturation in 33% new and 67% second-fill French oak barrels. The limited-production wine displays depth, precision, and subtle oak harmony. Contains sulphites. Information provided to the best of our knowledge at time of publication and subject to change by vintage.
The producer
Founded in 2002 by Swiss-born winemaker Jean-Claude Martin and his South African wife Carolyn, Creation Wines lies on the cool-climate Hemel-en-Aarde Ridge in Walker Bay — one of the world's most biodiverse regions. The virus-free vines thrive on the steep foothills of Babylonstoren Mountain, rooted in ancient quartzite and clay soils cooled by Atlantic Ocean breezes. Sustainability is central to Creation's ethos: they are WWF Champions, Carbon Heroes, and leaders in social upliftment. The estate is globally recognised, ranked No. 1 in Africa and No. 3 worldwide in the 2024 *World's Best Vineyards Awards*.
Food and drinking
Good with poultry & pork, risotto and cheese. Drinking well now, with a decade or more ahead of it. Serve at 15–17°C.