On Friday 27th January, winemakers, sommeliers and journalists set out to discover some of Marlborough’s most unique Pinot Noir sites via a unique route through the hills and back-country. This was a true “Pinot Safari”, travelling through some challenging terrain, uphill and down dale, through mud, steep slopes and over rocks and stones. The convoy of 4WD trucks, driven by intrepid winemakers and vine growers, took our guests on a journey of discovery from the upper Awatere to the western end of the Southern Valleys, with plenty of wine tastings and snacks along the way.
The clay-rich soils of the foothills of the Wither Hills are ideal for Pinot Noir and, at our Raupo Creek vineyard in the Omaka Valley, Seresin Estate Winemaker Clive Dougall poured our Raupo Creek and Sun & Moon Pinots. We love the south-westerly wind most of the time, as it keeps the air in the vineyards warm, dry, and always moving. However, it was stronger than usual on the 27th, making pouring wine a little bit of an adventure, but fortunately Clive can make his voice carry, and most of the wine ended up in the glasses!
Raupo Creek Pinot Noir is a concentrated and silky-textured Pinot, a more opulent style in any vintage, with warm spice and dark fruit notes. Sun & Moon is our purest expression of Pinot Noir, which is taken from a selected block of vines, a little down the slope from the shoulder of the hill – our goldilocks block: not too exposed, not too sheltered, not too warm, not too cool: just right. Not our biggest and boldest wine by any means, the Sun & Moon is an elegant wine, light on its feet, but with great depth and concentration, and the backbone to age well.
To read more, Jamie Goode, one of the Safari guests posted the following: http://www.wineanorak.com/wineblog/new-zealand/the-marlborough-pinot-noir-safari
Photos and text by Kat Wiggins, pictured here with Clive Dougall - Safari Style.