Seresin Raupo Creek Pinot Noir 2013

Pale to medium ruby-purple, the 2013 Raupo Creek Pinot Noir is beautifully scented of red cherries, pomegranate and Provence herbs with underlying forest floor, mushroom and earth hints. Medium-bodied, the palate is elegantly fruited with great intensity and a solid backbone of grainy tannins, finishing long and refreshing. Rating: 93+

Concentrated, velvety plum and spice flavors have a fresh edge of tomato leaf, finishing with a hint of minerality and firming tannins.

Tasted Sept 2015 - 26% new French barriques for 15 months. Vines thinned to one bunch per shoot, TA 5.3 g/l, pH 3.69. 500 c/s of 6. Mid ruby. Spicy and darker red fruit – much more Côte de Nuits than Côte de Beaune, some stemminess too (even though no stems are included in the ferment) – but fragrant/savoury rather than green. Peppery, darker fruit but still red fruited. Silky fresh core but with a firmer framework of tannins, but they are still so gentle. Succulent and spicy on the finish with an upright quality, filled out in the middle with fruit sweetness. Succulent, like all these wines. Dry and very finely textured as you go back to it. Cool, paper fine. GV (JH) 2010 - also 17pts 2011 - not reviewed

Sept '14 by Josh Raynolds - Good medium red. Ripe aromas of strawberry, blackberry and licorice. Pliant and intense in the mouth, offering terrific inner-mouth floral lift and definition to the intense flavors of red fruits and spices. This very classy, cellarworthy pinot noir finishes with firm but sweet tannins and excellent length. (A second bottle, which I scored a point lower, was muted by oak on the nose and finished with dustier tannins.)