One of the best things I do is meet people who make wine. I can enthuse forever about a glass of wine; and I can enthuse even more if I’ve met the people behind that liquid treat.
Wine isn’t just about what it taste likes – it’s about why it tastes like it does. Learning about the grapes, the geography, the people, the weather, the skill and the science – all that adds up to Geek overload for someone like me.
I met Kyle Thompson, the senior winemaker at Saint Clair Family Estate in Marlborough, New Zealand, who was on a flying visit from his shores to our shores.
Marlborough has a fantastic reputation for sauvignon blanc and pinot noir wines yet it is still very much a region on a learning curve.
Kyle told me: “New Zealand is such a young wine-growing country. We Kiwis are learning fast – we’ve got to! We’re at the end of the world and we have to get out there and do it. We haven’t got 300 to 400 years of wine history, we’ve only got 35 or 40 years.
“At Saint Clair each vineyard has its own individual flavour and individual terroir and the whole ethos of Saint Clair is to capture the land and capture the flavour. That’s the secret to St Clair wines – power and pungency in sauvignon blanc and a beautiful intensity in our pinot noir.”
Here’s three Saint Clair wines:
Saint Clair Wairau Reserve Sauvignon Blanc 2017 (RRP £22.99, Majestic, Spirited Wines, New Zealand House of Wine) Tropical fruit, such as passion fruit, lychee and papaya play on the senses alongside blackcurrant leaf, green fruit and nettles. It has a wake-up call of acidity and vibrant fruit in the mouth, but the wine is beautifully in balance. The mouth sensation lasts a deliciously long time. It’s a power pack of Marlborough sauvignon blanc.
Saint Clair Pioneer Block 14 Doctor’s Creek Pinot Noir 2015 (RRP £19.99, Majestic, Oddbins, New Zealand House of Wine) The grapes are selected from a single vineyard called Doctor’s Creek which is named after a small stream which runs through its centre. It has a moreish, complex nose – one nose dip brings coffee beans, another blackcurrant. Then there’s black cherry, redcurrant and plums. The wine has been aged in oak adding layers of complexity and a subtle spatter of spice.
Saint Clair Sauvignon Blanc Barrique (RRP £18.99, Wineman.co.uk, Strictly Wine) I just loved this wine which was fermented in French oak barriques. The wine is then aged on its lees for nine months, and stirred twice a week. The wine takes up the notes of the flavour-filled lees. The winemakers then choose only the most interesting wines to bottle and ultimately be savoured by the likes of you and me. What a wow. I found notes of preserved lemons, butterscotch, candied peel and pineapple. The wine had a luscious mouthfeel.
Find out more about Saint Clair Family Estate here
Thanks to Corrigan’s at Mayfair for a delicious lunch and to Hallgarten Wines who organised the event.
