Riposte The Sabre Pinot Noir 2023 Review: Delicate Aromatics, Firmer Reality?
Riposte’s The Sabre Pinot Noir 2023 comes from a producer closely associated with the development of the Adelaide Hills as a premium cool-climate wine region. Sourced from multiple Pinot Noir clones grown across Lenswood and Piccadilly, and matured in French oak, it presents itself as a wine built around elegance, freshness, and restraint. We approached it looking for how those qualities would translate from the aromatics through to the palate and alongside food.
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Vintage: |
2023 |
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Region: |
Adelaide Hills |
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Varietal: |
Pinot Noir |
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ABV: |
13.5% |
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RRP: |
~$31.99 AUD |
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Format: |
750 mL |
Appearance
The wine pours with a pale garnet core that fades cleanly toward a transparent rim. Clarity is bright throughout the glass, with no visible haze or sediment. It looks youthful and relatively light-bodied from a visual standpoint rather than deeply extracted or concentrated.
After swirling, the legs appear thick and uneven but fall quickly, reinforcing the impression of a wine that may carry some warmth without corresponding density on palate.
Aroma / Nose
Before swirling, delicate raspberry notes sit alongside light wood influence. Covering the glass after swirling noticeably amplifies the aromatics, bringing forward sweeter red berry tones with a floral lift and subtle spice underneath.
Once exposed to air again, the profile shifts. The berries become more muted while spice and oak take greater control. The wine begins smelling more savoury and structured than the initial covered aromatics suggest.
The contrast between the closed and open glass proved one of the more interesting aspects of the tasting.
Palate / Taste
On entry there’s a quick flash of red berry that gives way almost immediately to tartness. The initial impression is light, but the wine quickly becomes more driven by acidity and tannin than flavour intensity.
Tannins grip the cheeks and gums and spread across the tongue, creating a faintly numbing, blanket-like texture instead of silk. Despite this, the swallow remains relatively soft, with a gentle warmth emerging after each sip.
Over the evening the wine remained tight. The fruit surfaced in brief flashes rather than building through the glass, and the profile stayed linear instead of layered. We kept waiting for more complexity to emerge, but the wine stayed restrained during our tasting.
Finish
The finish is chiefly tannic and warm. Red berry notes fall away quickly, leaving structure to carry most of the aftertaste.
Nothing feels aggressively harsh, but the wine never quite broadens into the generosity its aromatics initially suggest.
Food Pairing
We paired the wine with roast chicken, shoestring fries, and a green apple salad with avocado.
Across all three dishes, salt, fat and acidity failed to coax the wine open. Instead, bitterness and warmth became increasingly noticeable while the fruit retreated further into the background. The effect was most obvious with the roast chicken, where the wine felt tighter and slightly rougher than it had on its own.
Rather than broadening alongside food, the wine became increasingly structure-led as the meal progressed.
ATC Verdict: Is It Worth the Splurge?
The Riposte The Sabre Pinot Noir 2023 makes a strong first impression. The colour is elegant, the aromatics are inviting, and there are moments where the wine hints at the delicacy and finesse often associated with Adelaide Hills Pinot Noir.
For us, however, the palate never fully capitalised on that promise. The fruit appeared briefly before giving way to acidity, tannin and warmth, and neither time in the glass nor food pairing unlocked additional depth. We kept waiting for the wine to broaden and reveal another layer, but it remained comparatively tight throughout the evening.
That doesn’t mean it lacks an audience. Drinkers who favour restraint, savoury structure and a less overtly fruit-driven style may find more to appreciate here than we did. Our experience simply never reached the level of complexity that the wine’s reputation and aromatics initially suggested.
Hints at complexity without fully unfolding.
Editor’s Note
This review was conducted over the course of an evening both on its own and alongside a meal of roast chicken, shoestring fries, and green apple salad with avocado. We also revisited the aromatics using both open and covered-glass assessments, which revealed noticeable differences in the wine’s aromatic profile.
Adrian, Editor at All That Is Cool
Please drink responsibly.
All alcohol reviews on All That Is Cool are intended for audiences aged 18+. We support mindful, moderate consumption and only feature bottles we’ve personally tasted and evaluated.
