One of the stealthiest ways to take a target out in Hitman 3 is to poison them. There are many different ways to take targets out in this manner, and IOI even slipped in some challenges for doing things a certain way. Each map often has multiple tasks like this, that are hidden behind multiple steps, and award special unlocks if completed. One such challenge is the Notes of Hemlock challenge in Mendoza, which requires the player to serve Tamara Vidal a poisoned glass of Pinot Noir.
Some prep work would do well here. If you can start in the Tasting Room with a server disguise, that cuts a lot of other steps out. But you might not have that option. And if you don’t have any poisons on hand, there is a way to complete the Notes of Hemlock challenge without them. We’re going to assume you don’t have anything prepared and starting from fresh.
You need to find the flower first, as it’s your only source of poison for this challenge. You will find it near the start of the map. Look for the two gauchos just hanging out, if you take them out and steal a disguise, you’re good to move on to the next step. The flower you want is down the hill nearby to some cacti. The flower you’re after will be marked as such, so keep an eye out.
When you have it, you have a choice. There’s the Hold my Hair challenge which you can use the flower as is for. Or you can try to complete the Tasteless, Traceless challenge, Which requires you to find a chemistry set to convert the flower into a lethal poison. You will find a set of this equipment in one of the storage sheds within the Mendoza map.
You will then want to grab a screwdriver as a backup weapon for stealth, there’s one down in the wine cellar. It’s sticking out of some wine barrels. You’re going to need it anyway, so make sure to grab it. Once you have the screwdriver, you can head further into the winery.
There will be an area that drops down from the barrel storage onto a walkway, look out for that. From this area, you will see some metal plates covering the entrance through the vents into the wine refrigeration area. You will want to use the screwdriver to open this panel and use it to gain access to the area. Be careful to only do this process when you’re alone, as NPCs will be about and sound the alarm if they spot you.
You can then head down into the fridge and you will find three wine varieties on tables inside. You want the Pinot Noir to the right, ignore the others for the sake of this challenge. So at this point, you should have both the bottle of Pinot Noir and the poison, either in raw or processed form. The final component is a server’s disguise.
You can find several of these NPCs around Mendoza, but the key is getting one alone and taking them out. The Tasting Room inside the winery has several floating around, focus your efforts there. There’s a small side room behind a closed door that has a fuse box in it. Trip the fuse box and then one of them should go in alone to check it out. Take them down and steal the disguise. Now you’re prepared to finish the Notes of Hemlock challenge in Hitman 3.
Put on the disguise and head behind the bar with your tools. Position Agent 47 behind the bar with the camera facing out while wearing the disguise. Place the Pinot Noir on the bar and wait. Once they show up, it’s time to put the plan into action. Wait for Vidal to show up then focus on the empty glass on the bar. You will want to put the poison in before she drinks it, so you have to turn your camera. Just keep the camera focused on the glass and hit the on-screen prompt to spike the drink. Once she downs it, the challenge should be complete.
While you’re here, you might want to check out some of our other guides for the game. Master the Hitman 3 controls and steer Agent 47 to his ultimate target with ease. It might also help to be extra stealthy in Hitman 3, as you don’t want to get caught and riddled with bullets. There are other non-gameplay things to learn as well. You might be interested to learn how to move your progress from Hitman 2 over, for example.
