2022 Pyramid Valley Angel Flower Pinot Noir

96 POINTS

Mike Bennie - The Wine Front

One forgets, perhaps, that these vines are now 20 years old from this vaunted site. The juggle always, with such a special and discussed place, is the balance between emotional approaches, artistic and pragmatic – maybe that’s every vineyard, but one of the flagbearers must be Pyramid Valley. It feels open weave and pretty with rose hip tea, alpine herbal elements, faint game meat, undergrowth and toasty spice strewn around the place. It slips into every corner of the palate, an attractive, sour-sweet flow of tart cherry dressed up with those savoury elements all sheathed in a web of ultra fine, silty, lacy tannin. It finishes with black tea and truffle and a building, drying, refreshing pucker. Fine, elegant, vibrant and energetic. A triumph for the variety.

96 POINTS

Emma Jenkins MW - Decanter

Nose a little shy at first, then lots of perfumed red fruit emerges – tamarillo and plum, a dash of spice, a lift of blue flowers. The delicate, dancing palate has surprising intensity of ripe, flowing red fruits, lovely fine, chalky tannins and bright, saline/minerally acidity. Very good length. This is smartly made with no edges but it’s not overly polished either. Biodynamic.

96 POINTS

Dave Brookes - Halliday Wine Companion

From a 0.7ha limestone/clay, north-facing, biodynamically farmed slice of the Pyramid Valley estate in Waikari. A beautifully perfumed, ethereal wine that shows delicate redcurrant, red cherry and raspberry fruits with hints of crushed stone, red flowers, blood orange, clover blossom, sous bois and red apple pastries. There is a lot of light in this wine, all detail and shimmering clarity with a spacious mouthfeel, sapidity to burn and the most graceful of exits. Beautiful drinking.

94 POINTS

Christina Pickard - Wine Enthusiast

As evocative in style as it is in name, Angel Flower is delicate with layers of complex aromas and flavor, from spiced orange peel to peppercorn to cherry bitters and dried florals. A mushroomy, mineral nuance is even subtler, but present. The palate is feathery light, with a subtle frame of supple tannins. Some may with for more flesh to the bones of their Pinot, but this reviewer delights in the elegance and class of this ethereal style.

93 POINTS

Rebecca Gibb MW - Vinous

The 2022 Pinot Noir Angel Flower makes its return after 2021 failed to deliver a crop - spring frosts and cool flowering dashed hopes early in the season. But this comeback vintage has delivered a very complete style. It's calm, collected and equivalent to a ball of silk for the mouth. Slightly riper in fruit weight compared with its sister wine, Earth Smoke, its tannins are fine and rounded, contributing to that mellow approachability even upon release. The 2022 is pure and broody, with dried herbs and subtle cedar notes lingering on the finish.

90 POINTS

Erin Larkin - Robert Parker Wine Advocate

The 2022 Angel Flower Pinot Noir is very light in the glass and leads with cherry kirsch, strawberry, chamomile tea and crushed rocks. The palate reveals this is the kind of wine that hides much and reveals slowly: the middle to back palate is where most of the flavor and texture reside. Despite this being very pale in color, the wine has intensity, drive and focus. 13.5% alcohol, sealed under screw cap.