Saint Clair 2016 Omaka Reserve Chardonnay and Pioneer Block 17 Merlot

FEATURED WINES IN THIS REVIEW

• Saint Clair ‘Omaka Reserve’ Marlborough Chardonnay 2016
  Chardonnay from New Zealand - Marlborough

  Review Date : 22-Mar-2018

  ☆☆☆☆☆

  Bright, even straw-yellow colour with slight green hues, pale on the rim. The nose is very full and broad, and solidly concentrated with aromas of ripe citrus fruits, yellow stonefruits and tropical fruits entwined with powerful and deep nutty oak, unfolding creamy barrel-ferment, flint, mealy and toasty detail with some butterscotch MLF. This has layers of complexity. Medium-full bodied, the palate is fulsome with deeply rich flavours of ripe yellow stonefruits, savoury citrus fruits and tropical fruit melded with a layering of creamy barrel-ferment and oak vanillins, along with nuances of nuts, flint and oxidative detail, unveiling mealy and buttery nuances. The palate is very accessible with a rounded core, and the flavours carry with good drive to a long, rich and sustained finish. This is a mouthfilling, complex flavoured, near over-the-top Chardonnay with citrus and tropical fruits, along with nutty, creamy, mealy and flinty detail. Serve with roast pork over the next 4+ years. A blend of Mendoza and clone 95 Chardonnay fruit, primarily from the Omaka Valley, hand-picked, WBP and fully barrel-fermented to 13.5% alc., the wine aged 10 months on lees in 50% new American oak, undergoing batonnage and MLF. 19.0/20 Mar 2018 RRP $37.90
• Saint Clair ‘Pioneer Block – 17 Plateau’ Gimblett Gravels Hawke’s Bay Merlot 2016
  Merlot from New Zealand - Hawke's Bay

  Review Date : 22-Mar-2018

  ☆☆☆☆☆

  Very dark, near impenetrable black-hued purple-red colour, a little lighter on the edge. The nose is full, solid and densely packed with aromas of ripe blackberries and black plums entwined with spice notes, some black liquorice, ink and a layering of iron-earth minerals, unfolding some nutty and pencilly oak. This is rich, savoury and complex. Medium-full bodied, the palate has rich and lusciously vibrant flavours of ripe black plum fruit with complexing notes of savoury, nutty oak, black liquorice, dark herbs and iron-earth minerals. The palate has great presence and depth, the fruit with vitality, supported by fine, grainy tannin structure and balanced acidity. The flavours carry with strength and power to a full, deep and sustained finish of black plums and earth. This is a solid, lusciously rich, complex-flavoured Merlot with black plum, nutty oak and earth, with plenty of structure. Merlot fruit from the ‘Plateau’ vineyard on Omahu Road, fermented to 13.5% alc., the wine aged 11 months in 26% new French oak. 19.0-/20 Mar 2018 RRP $37.90