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Saint Clair Pioneer Block 15 2009 Strip Block Pinot Noir

With duck season started, you might be looking for a wine that will go with duck, and with winter looking more like it has arrived early, you might be thinking of a good red to enjoy with a hearty lamb roast. These are just two good reasons why the wine I have chosen this week is a Pinot Noir. More specifically it is one of the Pioneer Block range from Saint Clair, made with carefully selected fruit.

The name Strip Block that Saint Clair has given to their Pioneer Block 15, refers to the narrow strip of aged, devigorating soils at the base of the southern foothills of the lower Waihopai River, on which the fruit for this wine was grown. The soils are clay based and the six-year-old vines are on an even, flat site that provides an environment conductive to producing quality Pinot Noir.

The fruit for this wine was harvested full physiological ripeness and maximum flavour and was held cold at the winery for four days after harvest before ferment, in order to extract maximum flavour. This also helped to enhance colour stability. Selected yeasts were used to carry out the primary alcoholic fermentation. During this process the must was also hand-plunged up to six times a day.

At dryness, each batch was pressed to tank and racked off gross lees to stainless steel tanks before being matured in a mixture of 19% new French oak for ten months, where it underwent malolactic fermentation. .

I found the ruby red 2009 Saint Clair Strip Block Pinot Noir to have wonderful aromas of ripe raspberry and cherry with lifted floral notes and a hint of toasty oak. On the palate I found this wine to also have flavours of ripe berries, leading to a long, lingering finish with vanilla and savoury oak notes. It has excellent structure, well-balanced acidity and powdery tannins.

As I mentioned at the start, I would recommend this wine with roast Lamb or duck. I would also expect this wine to develop further for up to five years with careful cellaring.

Reviewed by Stephen Clark (16/05/2011)
 

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