Seresin Estate Leah Marlborough Pinot Noir 2023

Description

Herbal, Oak, Spice

"Core hues of ruby and purple lead to a bouquet of plum and dark berries, some black currant and a mix of fruit and barrel spice layers. Firm, taut and dry as the wine touches the palate. Flavours from the bouquet repeat and are framed by an abundance of tannins and acid line. A youthful, lengthy, taut and delicious wine with best drinking from 2027 through 2036+" Cameron Douglas, Master Sommelier, Aug 2024

"Pure and fragrant, meltingly sweet, compact red fruit with a coulis of raspberry at the core wrapped in subtle cinnamon oak. It is counterbalanced beautifully by fine, ripe, gravelly tannins, some fresh savoury herb notes and a crystalline finish which lilts to earthy beetroot. Elegant, vibrant and precise. Deceptively approachable already but with the balance to age well. 2024–2032" Stephen Wong, Master of Wine, Sep 2024

"Certified organic, the good value 2023 vintage (****1/2) was estate-grown in the Raupo Creek Vineyard, in the Omaka Valley, and matured for eight months in French oak barriques (8 % new). Deep, bright ruby, it is mouthfilling and fruit-packed, with concentrated, ripe, cherryish, plummy, spicy flavours, showing some savoury complexity, balanced acidity and good tannin backbone. Fresh, youthful and vigorous, with obvious cellaring potential, it should be at its best mid-2026+" Michael Cooper

A majestic introduction to Seresin Pinot Noir. Lifted notes of violets and dark berry fruits prevail, that intermingle seamlessly with earthy, forest floor aromas. Surely one of the best vintages we have seen from Raupo, and this is reflected on the palate with a concentrated and highly structed wine, that is supported by supple tannins and purity of fruit.

Our clay rich Raupo Creek vineyard, farmed following organic and biodynamic principles is located in the centre of the Omaka Valley. This vineyard has a gentle north-west facing aspect and enjoys high sunshine hours and minimal rain.

Despite the challenging season that Mother Nature provided early on, the vineyard at Raupo shone, looking remarkably vibrant, alive and healthy. We were blessed also with a lovely even flowering so the bunches in general were smaller and evenly spread across the canopy, and naturally low. Smaller berries and bunches certainly gave a level of concentration that was welcomed. The season was not easy, and certainly wet in the months leading up to harvest; so to see the cleanliness of the fruit was very encouraging. This was a direct result of the judicious management by our vineyard team, who worked tirelessly all season despite the weather. Luckily, for the first time in several years, for the whole harvest period, we had a run of very dry, settled weather which enabled the team to harvest each plot exactly when we wished.

Six different clones were picked, destemmed and fermented in small batches with wild yeast. The wine was left on skins for 3-4 weeks with gentle plunging during ferment, before being drained, lightly pressed and transferred to French Oak barrels. The wine went through natural malolactic fermentation during 8 months maturation, before it was bottled lightly filtered and unfined.