Seresin “Leah”
Marlborough, New Zealand | 2022
I am absolutely thrilled to offer this exceptional Pinot Noir to our wine club members this month. It embodies everything I cherish about great winemaking, paired with a fascinating backstory. What excites me most is that this wine has the potential to age gracefully for many more years, but it is equally stunning right now when given a little air to open. With only 800 cases making their way out of New Zealand, it’s incredible that there is still any left to share with you!
As many of my customers may already know, I had the privilege of working the 2019 wine harvest in New Zealand, traveling from the North to the South Island. During my journey, I discovered a few standout wines that I couldn't wait to represent in the States as a burgeoning sommelier. After spending two weeks in Marlborough and encountering mostly unremarkable bulk-produced wines, a select few wineries truly stood out, making me reconsider Marlborough’s potential. Seresin was one of these remarkable wineries, and I have been singing its praises ever since.
Michael Seresin is a legendary figure in New Zealand’s wine world. A native Kiwi, he honed his winemaking skills in Tuscany, Italy while making a big name for himself in film production during the 1960s. He then returned to his native home to focus on winemaking in Marlborough’s diverse soil types in the cool-climate Omaka Valley located near the Marlborough Sounds and opened Seresin winery in 1992. Michael was a pioneer, importing Italian olives and establishing New Zealand's first Demeter certified biodynamic winery, adhering to moon cycles and enriching the rocky soils for quality viticulture. The 2017 vintage was the last vintage Michael oversaw directly before he passed the reins to current rockstar female winemaker Tamra Kelly-Washington, a staunch advocate of biodynamic farming, hand-harvesting, strict hand-sorting, and minimal intervention in the cellar.
"Leah" Pinot Noir, lovingly named after Michael’s daughter, is crafted from Michael’s most prized blend of handpicked fruit from the clay-rich vineyard Raupo Creek, yielding just two bottles per vine to ensure exceptional concentration and purity. This wine offers a vibrant and fresh expression of black cherry and mixed red and black berries, grilled herbs, cigar smoke and Asian spices supported by soft tannins, bright acidity, and a finish that ebbs and flows with dried fruit and earth that will evolve beautifully with time. While this wine is nuanced enough to be savored on its own, if you choose to pair it with a dish, I recommend a mixed-mushroom cassoulet with fresh herbs or thinly sliced salami drizzled with aged pomegranate vinegar.