Following on from my recent review of MacKenzie’s Pardon Sauvignon Blanc on December 5th, tonight we opened the MacKenzie’s Pardon “Free Flow” Pinot Noir 2008 from the Sirens’ Wines team in Waipara – the second in a release of 4 wines with part of the profits going to the Prostate Cancer Foundation.

I was looking in the wine rack for something that might go with our “Xmas Leftovers Risotto” – Rice salad, roasted vegetable (potato, kumara, pumpkin, red onion, garlic and beetroot roasted with balsamic) and leftover meats – chicken, ham and salami – don’t laugh it was damn tasty… A thought flashed through my mind – Pinot Noir? (my mind still numb from Xmas drinks) and I wasn’t wrong… It was a great match.

This Pinot comes from the Three Peaks (McKenzie’s Pardon) ten hectare vineyard west of the Waipara Valley – The grapes were hand harvested, de-stemmed to fermenter and held at 7 degress and plunged once a day for 5 days. Then  the juice was inoculated by wild and cultured yeasts, and the cap plunged four times daily. A small portion of stems were fermented with the juice and after fermentation finished the wines were kept on skins for 3 weeks before pressing off and into barrels with their lees. Natural malolactic fermentation occurred in the spring, before fining and bottling.

The colour was a lovely beetroot, cherry red in the glass, with red and black cherries and plums on the nose, and a little white pepper. Nice weight on the palate soft integrated tannins and acid balance with nice cherry / berry fruits and just the right amount of oak influence. It’s very much a fruit driven wine with a dry but persistent savoury finish. We both liked it and I rated this wine at 17.5/20 or 87.5/100 – Silver Medal.

Our special thanks to Louise from MacKenzie’s Pardon and Sirens Wine for providing these wines to review – we’ll open the Pinot Gris and Methode Traditionelle in the coming weeks and review them here as well.

MacKenzie’s Pardon wines are available at Fresh Choice and Super Value stores across the country and from www.mackenziespardon.co.nz – you can  follow them on Facebook too: http://www.facebook.com/pages/MacKenzies-Pardon/125502117496853

For more information about Prostate Cancer, awareness support and useful contacts head to www.prostate.org.nz and www.blueseptember.org.nz