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Te Mania Reserve 2009 Pinot Noir

This week’s wine is another from the small Nelson vineyard established by Jon and Cheryl Harrey. The vineyards of Te Mania are located on ancient alluvial terraces. These stony terraces combined with the cool maritime climate provided by the proximity to the beautiful Tasman Bay and Nelson’s high sunshine hours provide perfect conditions for producing quality Pinot Noir.

To make this wine, a range of Pinot Noir clones were harvested from three different vineyards. Once at the winery, the grapes were crushed and put into open tanks to be fermented naturally using wild yeasts. The wine and skins were hand plunged for eight to ten days, then after the ferment, the wine was left on skins for a further 10 to 21 days before being pressed to tank. The wine was then aged in French and American oak barrels for ten months before blending and bottling.

I found the ruby red Te Mania 2009 Reserve Pinot Noir to have aromas of strawberry, cherry and dark plum. On the palate, the wine has delicious flavours of black cherry and dark plum with hints of raspberry and spice. It is a well balanced, smooth, approachable wine that is drinking well now and will continue to develop over the next three to four years.

I would recommend trying it with mild Asian cuisine or lamb. It is also suitable for vegan diets.

Reviewed by Stephen Clark (31/10/2011)
 

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