2014 Pinot Noir Mabalel

The 2014 Mabalel Pinot Noir comes from vines located at 700 meters, planted around six years ago. This is 100% destemmed. There is certainly more volume on the nose compared to the 2015 Peter Max, with ebullient red cherries, crushed strawberry and cranberry fruit, as well as a slightly tertiary tincture evident with aeration. The palate is rounded and supple on the entry with a fine line of acidity, touches of mulberry and pomegranate, the 15% new oak nicely integrated and lending body to the finish. It is not quite as complex as the 2013 Maiden, and there is a slight hardness that needs to be abraded, but there is still something satisfying about this Pinot Noir that should offer a decade's worth of pleasure.