Creation, one of the leading wineries from South Africa’s cool-climate Hemel-en-Aarde region
Website: https://www.creationwines.com/
High up in the Hemel-en-Arde region lies one of South Africa’s top wine estates – one that has flown under the radar a bit, too. Under the watchful eye of JC (Jean-Claude) Martin, a winemaker who hails from Neuchâtel in Switzerland, and his wife Carolyn (who’s family have been winemakers in South Africa for many generations: she was born on the Hartenberg farm), Creation makes great wines from over 70 hectares of their own vineyards, and runs a top-notch cellar door and restaurant.
I have visited three times, and the last was my most extensive – we stayed two nights in the remarkable off-the-grid cabin they have in the middle of the vineyard (well, calling it a cabin is playing it down a bit: it’s a beautiful studio designed by Peter-Allan Finlayson’s architect brother – they are both cousins to Carolyn). Here I’ve included more recent notes from a tasting in London with notes on my last visit.
The project started back in 2002 when Carolyn and JC were alerted to this property – then virgin land – by Peter Finlayson, Carolyn’s uncle. As the winemaker at Bouchard-Finlayson he couldn’t snap it up, but they did, and began planting vineyards. When JC came to South Africa to grow winegrapes he had three stipulations. The vineyard had to have water, it had to be cool climate, and it had to be virus free. On the latter point, they are partnering with Vititech who monitor the vineyard for virus in exchange for providing shoots for propagation. They planted on the 50 acres of virgin land, and in 2006 got a small harvest. In 2007 they built the cellar, and since then have grown steadily.
Some things they got right from the start: Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Syrah, Viognier and Sauvignon Blanc are stars here and work really well. JC was convinced Merlot would work, but it just didn’t, even after persevering for many years. It never got properly ripe and had a green note that JC didn’t like, so it has been replanted with Pinot Noir and Chardonnay.
The original vineyard will soon have the oldest Pinot Noir and Chardonnay in South Africa. It’s currently 22 years old, and having no virus is a big advantage. They can’t be certified organic because they have to fight off mealybug. They do it at first with natural predators, but there’s 3-4% that they need to spray with insecticide in the winter. Their first priority is to be virus free, so they sacrifice organic status for this. They may not be organic officially, but they have amazing biodiversity on the farm.
There’s been a bit of change in the Pinot Noir and Sauvignon Blanc vineyards. These were initially trained to cordon, but both varieties have low basal bud fertility. This means when you have a short two or three bud spur, often you might get no fruit on the stems from the first two buds, and just one on the third. But if they are cane-pruned, then often the fourth, fifth and sixth buds will each give rise to canes with two bunches each.
The main property is 40 hectares of vines in the Hemel-en-Arde Ridge. A few years ago they purchased a second 30 hectare property, 2.5 km up the road, called Vrede. This was initially outside the Heme-en-Aarde appellation system, but now is part of Hemel-en-Aarde Ridge. The soils are decomposed Bokkeveld Shale with some quartz seams, too. They recently added a third property, which is the vineyard from Seven Springs. This is a short distance from their home vineyard, but outside of the Hemel-en-Aarde Ridge ward. It has given them 10 hectares of really nice vineyards on slopes, with some particularly promising 777 clone Pinot Noir. The 115 would also be promising, but there were some grafting problems with the vines that has hampered their development, and they will probably have to be replanted.
Hemel-en-Arde is small, with 420 hectares in all 3 wards, and 120 hectares each of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. ‘We get a lot of air-time for a small pocket in Southern Africa,’ says JC.
Creation have done a lot of work keeping out viruses. ‘The vines are 20 years old and they are still virus free, which is fantastic,’ says JC. ‘We can see it now with the Pinot Noir. We knew from Europe that it is the key for quality, but after 20 years now we can see how the Pinot is getting better and better. This is vineyard age. In other farms with virus they are pulling the vines out after 15 or 20 years maximum. There are two key points. First of all, it is the quality aspects: the vines don’t need to be 80 years old, but a solid 20 years plus helps. Then there is the commercial side: if you must pull the vineyards out after 20 years, it is a long wait until they are back in production. I don’t think it’s really viable.’
‘For us the main focus is quality. The estate vineyards are now 20 years old, and when the kids carry on they will take over the farm as an old vine project: everything will be 35 years plus.’ The kids in question are Glenn and Emma, and both are interested in wine.
‘They have figured out it is a fantastic industry. Glenn is friends with Eben’s kids Marcus and Zander and they travel together. There’s a cool crowd of youngsters.’
Are most people taking the same view, that to make quality wine you need virus-free vines? ‘Most of the people come to terms with it. They assume virus is not a great thing, but there’s a process they have to go through [to stay virus free], and to implement it you have to be quite strict. To turn it around and get a farm virus free takes a lot of effort. Vergelegen have done it, but unfortunately it came at a heavy price: you have to go in, tear out, replant. From a sustainably point of view you want to sooner than later start to plan to be on top of the virus. It’s interesting that now all the shoots are getting transported to nurseries.’
The cuttings from Creation are taken away by Vititec, who are the mother block holder. ‘For me it is a fantastic exchange: I have a monitoring mechanism for free. They come four times a year and check the whole farm. For example, we have the only virus-free block in South Africa. They want to be so sure they check every plant under the microscope. When it becomes a normal mother block they just make a visual check four times a year. They mark the plants if there is virus. On the whole farm they are picking up three or four vines out of hundreds of thousands. It is quite a surprise. A lot of people told us it would not work and we would get virus. The thing is, you have to start from a virgin piece of land, virus free, and you have to monitor.’
The have made a new cellar with some concrete eggs and are getting some concrete tanks. ‘I still like the foudres: I quite like working with wood,’ says JC. ‘At the moment we are assessing the whole farm. Every block we aren’t sure is the right cultivar we are ripping up and replanting.’ They’ve taken out Merlot for Chardonnay, and Petit Verdot to Pinot Noir, and will take out a Merlot block and will replace this with Pinot Noir. ‘It’s costly, but both kids want to be in the business.’
Hemel-en-Arde is well suited to making fine wines. ‘Climatically this is one of the most rewarding places to make wine. There’s no pressure to pick, and the acid stays.’ Soil is heavy clay and there are no heatwaves, so they thought Merlot would work. ‘It was OK, but it didn’t excite us. But at least we tried. We have a 2 ha block of Cabernet that’s now 20 years old and is virus free and it makes a lovely wine. I cannot pull out that vineyard, it looks so good. But the Merlot will disappear.’
Chardonnay is the main grape on this farm. In Chardonnay they make 80 000 bottles, with 60 000 the estate wine. Chardonnay is all 100% malolactic. JC has begun picking a bit earlier to yield fresher Chardonnays over the last few years, and they’ve stopped battonage. The Chardonnay is inoculated, using a neutral Champagne yeast. The wild yeasts, they found the fermentation went sluggish at the end: ‘you lose a bit of the purity of the wine,’ says JC. ‘Inoculation with a good yeast doesn’t make a wine bad.’ Red wines are all spontaneously fermented. JC goes straight to barrel with the Chardonnay without settling: he likes working with dirty juice. ‘When the grapes are in good condition, why would you want to throw anything away?’
‘The interesting thing about Chardonnay is that it becomes very precise when fermentation completes nicely,’ says JC. They do 100% malolactic. ‘Malic acid gives an element of hardness: it’s not the most elegant acid,’ he says. ‘But to do Malolactic you need good acidity to start with.’
There is no battonage, and the wine is in barrel for 11 months. It’s around 30% new oak. ‘We don’t feel the wine needs any more exposure to oxygen. What is critical for me is that you shouldn’t rush to bottle, and the wine is left another six months in stainless steel, and then bottle.’ This allows a second sedimentation, which means they don’t need to filter any more.
At the beginning, JC says he picked the Chardonnay a bit too late. He came from Switzerland where they never had the luxury of hanging the fruit. The longer the berries are left they tasted better, but JC was in Burgundy and they said if the grapes taste good you may have missed the pick. They pick 10% early for acidity. And one year the acid pick tasted better than the normal pick, so they started picking everything a bit earlier. They don’t mind one or two lots coming in too early, because if you let things get away then you are chasing your tail and all it needs is a warm weekend and you have too much ripeness.
‘With Pinot Noir, when you have old vineyards you can pick earlier and still have flavour. With the young vineyards you have to pick a little later. We were on the later picks at one stage, and this is something we’ve had to learn.’
‘For us whole bunch is the way to go,’ he says, referring to Pinot Noir fermentation. ‘Initially we were scared because we thought we’d bring the green element in, and this isn’t the case. But for us it brings the freshness back in, and it avoids green contributions. I did trials with 100% whole bunch and the result wasn’t the most convincing. It might also be a vintage thing. Overall, though, when we decide to start with 50% we might go to 60, when we start at 70 we might go to 80.’
‘Whole bunch gives an energy to the wine. The destemmed Syrah, for example, has too much fruit.’
The restaurant is also a major attraction, and draws many people to the cellar door. On offer, a multicourse tasting menu with a particular theme: this was the return to nature Ayurvedic menu, and it was superbly done. They began with the restaurant in 2008, when they leased it out, but since 2012 it has been in house. About 30% of their production is sold via their hospitality venture, which is where they need the varieties (apart from Chardonnay and Pinot Noir), and the fizz. They have 66 000 visitors a year.
THE WINES
Creation Chardonnay Ridge 2024 Hemel-en-Aarde, South Africa
This is the renamed Reserve. This is concentrated, fine and expressive with pear and peach on the nose, with a slight saltiness revealing itself on the palate. Lovely fine, grainy structure here with a touch of spiciness. There’s some peach, some lively citrus and good acidity. Beautifully expressive and textural. 95/100
Creation Chardonnay Art 2024 Hemel-en-Aarde, South Africa
This is from the oldest single vineyard block planted in 2002, all Burgundian clones. This is concentrated and very refined on the palate, with some richness to the pear and peach fruit, and then good acidity keeping the flavours really focused. There’s a subtle mealiness and fine spicy detail. Complex and very classy, this is serious. 96/100
Creation Chardonnay Glenn’s 2024 Hemel-en-Aarde Ridge, South Africa
This is wild ferment. It’s made from the same block as the Art. Nicely complex toast, meal and spice notes on the nose, and then vivid acidity on the palate. This is so layered and complex with some stony, mineral character. Beautiful lemon and pear fruit with a hint of pineapple. 96/100
Creation Chardonnay Glenn’s 2023 Hemel-en-Aarde Ridge, South Africa
This is powerful, complex, lively and spicy with some toasty detail alongside the pear and peach fruit, as well as some pineapple and lime. Complex, mealy and toasty with nice layers of flavour. Long, finely spiced finish. 95/100
Creation Chardonnay Art 2022 Hemel-en-Aarde Ridge, South Africa
Subtle toasty detail here with some meal and spice, as well as broad peach and citrus fruit. This has an innate richness to it, but doesn’t get fat or flabby: there’s lovely crystalline citrus fruit and keen acidity. Nice depth here. 95/100
Creation Chardonnay Glenn’s 2021 Hemel-en-Aarde Ridge, South Africa
This is broad, concentrated and textural with nice spicy detail to the pear and peach fruit. Mealy and rich, but also with an amazing acid line, keeping everything fresh, with some mineral notes and a bit of saltiness on the finish. Combines ripeness and delicacy. 96/100
Creation Chardonnay Art 2020 Hemel-en-Aarde Ridge, South Africa
Powerful with intense citrus, peach and pear fruit. Lovely depth with a fine salty edge and keen acidity, as well as broad fruit. Amazing harmony between the fruit and oak, with nothing sticking out. This is quite profound with so many layers of flavour. Quite brilliant. 97/100
Creation Pinot Noir Art 2024 Hemel-en-Aarde Ridge, South Africa
13% alcohol. This is the oldest block on the farm, planted in 2002. Lovely concentration and purity. This has nice structure under the sweet raspberry and cherry fruit, with fine spicy detail. Very fine and elegant, combining power but also finesse. Good structure and intensity here. 95/100
Creation Pinot Noir Emma’s 2024 Hemel-en-Aarde Ridge, South Africa
Single vineyard block. There’s some warmth and depth here with rich raspberry and cherry fruit, with some fine spicy detail and a bit of structure. This has concentration and depth with a touch of lushness, with perfume. Stylish, finishing quite structured. 94/100
Creation Pinot Noir Art 2023 Hemel-en-Aarde Ridge, South Africa
Aromatic with a sappy edge to the red cherry fruit on the nose. The palate has some warmth and a nice spicy edge to the raspberry and cherry fruit. There’s a nice spicy edge to the fruit and good structure. Lovely. 94/100
Creation Pinot Noir Art 2022 Hemel-en-Aarde Ridge, South Africa
There’s just a little evolution here with a subtle mulch, spicy edge to the raspberry and cherry fruit. This has richness, but also sappy spicy detail with depth but also elegance. Some cured meat and pepper hints, too. Very stylish and inviting. 94/100
Creation Pinot Noir Art 2021 Hemel-en-Aarde Ridge, South Africa
This was 80% whole bunch. This has earth, pepper and spice with some nice silky strawberry and cherry fruit. Fine and expressive with some richness and depth, as well as a hint of maltiness in the background. Ageing really nicely and getting an extra dimension of richness. 94/100
Creation Pinot Noir Art 2019 Hemel-en-Aarde Ridge, South Africa
This is ageing really well. Nice depth with sweet cherry and plum fruit. Concentrated with smooth cherries and plums as well as fine pepper notes and a subtle hint of mulch, as well as some strawberry character. Has nice harmony here: drinking beautifully. 95/100
Creation Rose 2023 Cape South Coast, South Africa
Pale pink in colour. Brisk with lively grapefruit notes, as well as appealing cherry and cranberry. Detailed, with keen acidity. 91/100
Creation Sauvignon Blanc 2023 Cape South Coast, South Africa
Lovely aromatics: elderflower and tomato leaf, with nice acidity. Notes of pear, green apple and citrus with some depth. Stylish. 92/100
Creation Sauvignon Blanc Semillon 2022 Cape South Coast, South Africa
Fermented in elongated 320 litre barrels. Spice, pear and citrus with some nice acidity. Textured, fine and spicy. 93/100
Creation Viognier 2023 Cape South Coast, South Africa
Floral with white peach, apricot and nice texture. There’s some variety-typical softness, but this also has good acidity. Nice purity here. 92/100
Creation Viognier Roussanne 2021 Cape South Coast, South Africa
Mainly concrete eggs and foudre. Textured and pure with nice weight. Pear and spice, and some white peach, and also a hint of honey. Nicely balanced. 93/100
Creation Grenache Blanc Roussanne 2022 Cape South Coast, South Africa
Linear and fresh with nice depth to the pear and green apple fruit with some peachy richness. Stylish and pure. 93/100
Creation Viognier Grenache Blanc Roussanne 2022 Cape South Coast, South Africa
Zesty, pure and linear with bright citrus and pear fruit, some fine toast and spice. 92/100
Creation Chardonnay Reserve 2023 Hemel-en-Aarde Ridge, South Africa
Lovely toast and spice on the nose, as well as nuts and minerals and some meal. Lovely weight on the palate. Fine, stony and juicy. 94/100
Creation Art of Chardonnay 2022 Hemel-en-Aarde Ridge, South Africa
Very fine and mineral with spice and meal notes alongside pear and peach fruit. Good intensity and acidity here with real finesse. Pure and fine. 95/100
Creation Glenn’s Chardonnay 2022 Hemel-en-Aarde Ridge, South Africa
Pure and focused. Linear with a refined citrus drive. So textural, made in a nice taut style. Linear and fine, and really stylish. 96/100
Creation Art of Pinot Noir 2020 Hemel-en-Aarde Ridge, South Africa
Spice, herbs and minerals as well as lovely redcurrant and raspberry notes. Firm and spice-laden with sour cherries, iodine and some ferrous notes. Intense, with good acidity. 96/100
Creation Art of Pinot Noir 2021 Hemel-en-Aarde Ridge, South Africa
Sweet core to the fruit. Ripe cherries and plums with some raspberry brightness. Has some spicy structure and nice sour cherry on the finish. Fine 95/100
Creation Art of Pinot Noir 2022 Hemel-en-Aarde Ridge, South Africa
Fresh, fine, pure and linear with sour cherry, sweet red cherries and some iodine, ferrous notes in the background. Good structure here. 95/100
Creation Syrah Grenache 2022 Hemel-en-Aarde Ridge, South Africa
Supple, fine and expressive with red and black cherries, as well as some plums. Bright and expressive with red fruits, a hint of olive, and some white pepper. Juicy, focused and fine. 94/100
Creation Reserve Syrah 2021 Hemel-en-Aarde Ridge, South Africa
No new oak. Lovely intensity with some vibrant, juicy red cherry fruits, as well as nice acidity. Notes of cherry and raspberry with good freshness. Nice grip. 94/100
Earlier notes
Creation Sauvignon Blanc Semillon 2021
80% Sauvignon Blanc, 20% Semillon. Barrel fermented with 10% new oak. No malolactic. Beautifully expressive with pure citrus, a touch of pear and passionfruit, and nice structure. There’s just a touch of oak here, and lovely freshness with a fine tapering finish. This has real potential for ageing. 93/100
Creation Viognier Roussanne 2021
60% Viognier, 40% Roussanne, with a tiny bit of Grenache Blanc. No malolactic. Concrete eggs, small foudres, old oak. This is fresh but textural with some ripe pear and apricot, as well as some peach. But there’s also lovely citrus character (mandarin and lemon) with good acidity. It has some flesh as you’d expect from these varieties, but also brightness. Really interesting mid-palate flourish here. 93/100
Creation Chardonnay 2021
10% new oak, all small French. No battonage. Nice concentration with some richness, but also freshnes, showing some hazelnut and spice with pear and white peach, finishing fresh with some citrus. There’s a slight breadiness in the background, and it has a really nice poise. 93/100
Creation Reserve Chardonnay 2021
Single block, 20 years old, 30% new oak (blond toast). Complex, fine and quite pure with a mineral, spicy edge to the pear, peach and citrus fruit. Lovely freshness and poise here: it’s quite mineral and fine. 94/100
Creation Art Chardonnay 2021
Single block, the first Chardonnay planted on the farm. Yields 6 tons/ha. Don’t have to press too hard and get a decent amount out. 30% new oak. This is vivid, expressive and powerful with lovely toast-laden citrus fruit, and some fine spices. There’s some peachy richness, but it’s citrus that drives things here. This is forward and delicious but beautifully poised: such concentration and weight. 95/100
Creation Art Chardonnay 2020
Concentrated and taut with compact, linear fruit. The vintage has yielded a very tight expression of Chardonnay with lots of citrus drive and just a hint of nutty, peacy richness. Has a long, finely spiced finish. Expect this dense, unfurled Chardonnay to come into its own over time. Sensational stuff. 96/100
Creation Glenn’s Chardonnay 2020
Out the Art Block they did a batch of wild yeast, and a few of them had a bit of matchstick reduction and they didn’t want to blend it away. Three barrels made. This is a beautifully expressive wine with matchstick and mineral notes, with fine acidity and bold citrus characters. Lots of spicy detail here with great acidity. This is really interesting, and it would be fascinating to taste this blind. 95/100
Creation Pinot Noir 2021
8 vineyard blocks, 10-30% whole bunch, 10% new oak. Aromatic, supple and very pure with lovely fresh cherry and raspberry fruit, showing some lovely supple detail and sappy notes. This is a really expressive, pure Pinot showing great balance. Shows a slight savoury flourish, too. 93/100
Creation Reserve Pinot Noir 2021
Single block, 16 years old, 50% whole bunch, 30% new oak. 115 clone for this and the Art. ‘It’s the workhorse. It’s the most quality driven clone but it’s a compact clone that can get bunch rot. There’s enough wind to dry the bunches so we have no botrytis on the farm. This is structured and compact with lovely floral cherry and berry fruit and also a bit of bite. Nice spiciness here with lovely fruit expression and also some structure. Very fine. 94/100
Creation Art Pinot Noir 2021
3000 bottles made a year, the oldest block of Pinot. 80% whole bunch, 30% new oak. Have some crushed grapes on the top. Wild ferment. Concentrated, intense, with lovely sweet cherry and raspberry fruit, with good acidity and some spicy oak in the background. Very sophisticated with good structure and weight, combining sweet fruit with nice tannins and acidity. Finishes with a bit of spice. A lovely wine with masses of potential. 95/100
Creation Art Pinot Noir 2020
60% whole bunch. 30% new oak. Compact, supple and fresh with amazing cherry and raspberry purity, and some good structure. This is very expressive and concentrated with a linear personality. Has a sense of purity and finesse, with a slight green hint in the background. Lovely stuff. 94/100
Creation Art Pinot Noir 2019
70% whole bunch. There’s a lovely savoury, spicy quality to this wine, with some good structure. Has cherry and berry fruits with a touch of plum and some dried herbs. Lovely complexity with nice density and just a touch of evolution. This is really good. 95/100
Creation Syrah Reserve 2021 (from foudre)
This was 10 months in barrels then it goes to foudre. 20 year old vineyard, 4 tons, 80% whole bunch. This is fresh and intense with amazing vivid black cherry fruit with some pepper and spice. Lots of intensity and concentration, floral characters, good structure and good acidity. There’s freshness and structure here with lovely purity. Has a lot of natural acidity that frames the structure really well. 94-96/100
Older notes:
Creation Elation Brut Nature MCC 2012 Hemel-en-Arde, South Africa
80%Chardonnay, 20% Pinot, Brut Nature, 2 years on lees. Very fresh and tart with bright, herb tinged lemony fruit and a bit of subtle toastiness. Has some apple character, too. Very attractive. 88/100
Creation Sauvignon Blanc 2016 Hemel-en-Arde, South Africa
There’s lovey taut fruit here with herbs, lemons, some wax and pith. Nice grapefruit freshness on the finish. Lovely fruit character here, but also has some nice savouriness. Very stylish. 91/100
Creation Sauvignon Blanc Semillon 2016 Hemel-en-Arde, South Africa
Tight, nutty and citrussy with lovely lean, mineral-tinged lemony fruit. Has presence and acidity here. Linear and stony with nice precision. 91/100
Creation Estate Chardonnay 2016 Hemel-en-Arde, South Africa
Very fine and expressive with clean, subtly bready, toasty citrus and pear fruit, with a bit of peachy richness. Refined and delicious with some ripeness. 91/100
Creation Reserve Chardonnay 2016 Hemel-en-Arde, South Africa
No press juices. Fine, delicate and refined with lovely mineral and spice notes as well as pear and citrus fruits. This is sophisticated with attractive fruit and good acidity. 93/100
Creation Art of Chardonnay 2016 Hemel-en-Arde, South Africa
10-12 barrels. Taut and refined with lovely acidity and dense citrus and pear fruit. Really expressive and detailed with great acidity. Lovely wine. Really well integrated wood. Such a lovely wine. 95/100
Creation Estate Pinot Noir 2016 Hemel-en-Arde, South Africa
Clean, pure, floral and fine with nice direct, supple, sweet cherry fruit. Very red fruits in character with nice purity and some structure. Youthful and quite delicious. 91/100
Creation Reserve Pinot Noir 2015 Hemel-en-Arde, South Africa
There’s some herb and undergrowth detail lurking in the background of the floral red fruits. Nice grip here with lovely focused fruit and a silky texture. Nice purity here with lovely finesse. 92/100
Creation Art of Pinot Noir 2015 Hemel-en-Arde, South Africa
There’s wonderful balance here: it has fine cherries and plums with a nice spiciness. Structured and refined with spice and a hint of tar. Lovely precision and structure here: a serious effort. 95/100
Creation Syrah 2015 Hemel-en-Arde, South Africa
Concentrated, fresh and with lovely floral black cherry and spice notes. There’s some peppery freshness as well as lovely lush sweet fruit. Real finesse here. 93/100
Creation Syrah Grenache 2015 Hemel-en-Arde, South Africa
Bright and fresh with lovely well defined black cherry and plum fruit. Lovely clean, pure, fresh black fruits here. Very convincing. 93/100
Creation Sumac Grenache 2015 Hemel-en-Arde, South Africa
There’s richness here as well as some fresh peppery red and black fruits. Good structure and a hint of cedary oak in the background. Polished and fine. 92/100
Creation Reserve Merlot 2015 Hemel-en-Arde, South Africa
Lovely fresh black fruits here with some blackcurrant and some cherry. Fresh and supple with a chalky, gravelly edge. Ripe but fresh and really convincing. 92/100
Creation Cabernet Sauvignon Merlot Petit Verdot 2015 Hemel-en-Arde, South Africa
Generous and fine with sweet, textured, gravelly, spicy blackcurrant fruit. Fine and floral with nice freshness alongside the ripe fruit. Quite lovely with a hint of seriousness. Lovely. 94/100
Creation Viognier 2016 Hemel-en-Arde, South Africa
Bright, fresh, pure and floral with nice lemony acidity keeping things bright. Very pretty and juicy with some pear and peach notes, but with citrus freshness driving things. 91/100
