Michael Hall Wines Sang de Pigeon Pinot Noir / 2025 / 750mL

The Michael Hall Sang de Pigeon Pinot Noir 2025 is a bright, medium-bodied Adelaide Hills pinot noir with the lift and perfume that the Piccadilly Valley does so well. Fruit sits in the red end of the spectrum, more crunchy than plush, and the whole thing is built for drinking rather than deliberation.

Aromatically it opens on morello cherry, cranberry and pink peppercorn, with a savoury edge of dried thyme and orange peel underneath. Give it twenty minutes in the glass and a rose-petal florality comes through, along with a faint whiff of turned earth.

The palate follows the nose closely: red cherry and raspberry, a light dusting of spice, and fine chalky tannins that grip gently at the edges. Piccadilly Valley's cool sites show in the acidity, which runs straight down the middle and keeps everything taut. Body is light to medium, the texture silky rather than dense, and the finish is dry, tangy and persistent without any heat.

Serve it lightly chilled with duck breast, mushroom risotto, roast quail or a plate of charcuterie. It also handles harder-to-match dishes well — think miso-glazed salmon, or a Peking duck pancake — where a heavier red would flatten the flavours.

Drink the Sang de Pigeon Pinot Noir 2025 from now through to roughly 2030, with the acid line suggesting the middle years will be the most rewarding.