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Saint Clair Pioneer Block 12 Lone Gum 2008 Gewurztraminer
Gewurztraminer is one of my preferred styles of wine and one I think
is still under-rated in this country. This could be because the name
looks so daunting to pronounce (just say gevurz if you have
trouble). I like it though because it is a very versatile aromatic
and the flavour always surprises, being different from what you
might think by the aromatics.
The fruit for this particular Gewurztraminer comes from their Lone
Gum block, situated in a warmer area of the inland South Western
Wairau plains of Marlborough, in a local area known as Dog Point.
The vines in this block are 13 years old.
Being a warmer site, the vines experience earlier budburst and the
fruit has a longer ripening period, with weather still good for
ripening the fruit well into Autumn. For Gewurztraminer grapes, hang
time on the vine increases the intensity of those wonderful
characteristic aromatics and gives the wine a rich weight on the
palate. For this Gewurztraminer, the winemaker wanted to produce a
wine that had a full, ripe, weighty style with no botrytis
influence. The fruit was therefore carefully monitored during the
ripening period.
Once harvested in the cool of the evening, the fruit was taken to
the winery, crushed, then allowed several hours of skin contact to
extract the full compliment of flavour, phenolics and aromatics
contained in the fruit. Following the settling, the juice was then
racked with a portion of the light ‘fluffy’ lees and th4en fermented
using selected yeasts in 100% stainless steel.
The pale gold Saint Clair Lone Gum 2008 Gewurztraminer has
wonderful, intense aromas of Turkish delight, rose petals and spice
which are reflected on the full bodied, soft palate. The palate also
has an oily texture and exhibits notes of both lychee and cinnamon.
It is an excellent wine, drinking well now, but I would expect it to
cellar well for up to four years.
I would recommend this wine with manuka smoked fish or spicy Asian
dishes. It should also pair well with roast pork or a selection of
cheeses.
Reviewed by Stephen Clark (11/12/2009)
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