AKA 43 Degrees because the vineyard rows are unusually sited at an angle of 43 degrees north-east to south-west with increased shading on the southern side resulting in wine that's slightly more herbaceous

Part of a mixed case on one of their Wednesday deals

Lovely nose, theres wine gums (I know , presumably wine gums are meant to taste and perhaps smell of wine, but its the only thing I could think to describe it) and a grassiness which is there in the mouth too. I can imagine strolling through a summer meadow ... but without the hayfever .

Quite light but with the typical SC intensity. Theres tropical fruit, mostly guava and good acidity. Typical but with a grassy edge. Its really good, as we've come to expect from the SC blocks.

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tribs

For those interested the whole case is listed below. None other than the SC have been tried yet.

Saint Clair, Pioneer’s Block 3 Sauvignon Blanc 2008 - £13.95
Bob Campbell MW, 92pts – “Christened "43 degrees" because the vineyard rows are unusually sited at an angle of 43 degrees north-east to south-west with increased shading on the southern side resulting in wine that's slightly more herbaceous. Intense wine in a classic Saint Clair style with strong box hedge, mineral, green capsicum, gooseberry and nettle. Rich, mouthfilling wine with rather mellow acidity and a lingering finish.”

Schaefer Frohlich Bockenauer Felseneck Trocken 2008 - £13.95
Robert Parker 89pts – “The Schafer-Frohlich 2008 Bockenauer Riesling trocken - 80% of which is Felseneck - smells pungently smoky but also subtly herbal, and presents a cool, laid-back, herbal character on a polished palate, underlain by wet stone. White peach and honeydew melon contribute the requisite succulence and primary fruit juiciness to keep this from becoming too severe. Still, peach kernel bitterness, herbal pungency, and adamant minerality lean collectively toward austerity, so it’s lucky that peach and melon do not desert the palate on this wine’s long finish.”

PHI Chardonnay 2006 - £19.95
Stephen Tanzer 93pts – “Bright yellow color. Flamboyantly perfumed bouquet displays Meyer lemon, buttery brioche, floral honey, smoky lees and vanilla bean. Light in body but intense, offering deep, focused citrus, pear, buttered toast and honeyed peach flavors, along with a subtle undercurrent of smoked meat. Finishes firm and dry, with slow-mounting minerality and excellent smoky persistence. Very impressive chardonnay.”

Bodega Caro, Amancaya 2007 - £17.95
Stephen Tanzer 90pts – “Bright ruby-red. Complex nose offers currant, graphite, tobacco, licorice, cedar and fresh herbs. Ripe, juicy and suave, with lovely density to the supple flavors of currant, graphite and dark chocolate. At once velvety and energetic, with a peppery nuance perking up the dark fruit flavors. The firm finish features sweet tannins. I find more thorough ripeness here than in the 2006 version, making this a stunning value in claret-like Argentine wine. Caro is a joint venture of Lafite-Rothschild and Nicolas Catena.”

John Duval Entity 2007 - £19.95
Robert Parker 93pts – “The purple-colored 2007 Entity Shiraz spent 17 months in 30% new French oak, the balance in seasoned French and American oak. It displays an alluring nose of wood smoke, game, meat blood, Asian spices, and blueberry. Ripe and sweetly-fruited, this plush effort conceals enough structure to evolve for another 2-3 years. Drink this classy offering from 2012 to 2022.”

Chateau Sainte Michelle, Cabernet Sauvignon Cold Creek Vineyard 2006 - £23.95
Robert Parker 91pts – “The 2006 Cabernet Sauvignon Cold Creek Vineyard was sourced from a site planted in 1973 with the wine aged for 21 months in French oak. Dark ruby-colored, it has an earthy character as well as aromas of spice box, rose petal, cassis, and black cherry. Fleshy, full-bodied, and mouth-filling, it has layered savory fruit, incipient complexity, plenty of fine-grained tannin, and a lengthy, pure finish. Drink it from 2011 to 2021.”[color=#][/color][color=#][/color][color=#][/color]

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tribs

That's a nice case T, some serious producers there.

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Yep, Im still here.

Hmnn - There's some class in there. Of the lush sounding cab dominated cuvees: Lush, but with the extras - pencil lead and cigar box shavings

Bodega Caro, Amancaya 2007
Chateau Sainte Michelle, Cabernet Sauvignon Cold Creek Vineyard 2006


Care to invite me over for dinner, when they are ready ?

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Duncan

They send out a deal every Wednesday. They are not usually mixed cases.

This one stood out to me so I thought I'd treat myself. I consider it an indulgence.



I think it might take a while. I'll let you know closer to the time.

I am trying to imagine whether the kids will be more of a handful or less (4 & 2 now)

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tribs

Similar age to my grande enfants, your youngest tho, is a year or so older. I can hand them back of course, I've done my duty, and am very proud of my daughters.

I also wandered off my well trodden path this month, and took a mini punt myself, I know Shez will approve after all the mascinations with central Otago considerations last year.

I have acquired half a case of Gunboat Point PN '09 for 2015/16/17 supping. Hopefully some hobbit fungi & leafmold will have sett up residence in the burrow by then....

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Duncan

I was picking up some stuff for the office from Costco and decided to peruse their wine aisle. Was very pleasantly surprised. Picked up some of these Block 3 Pioneers 2009 and 2010 for under £11 a bottle, also a Kim Crawford MSB and a Jim Barry Cover Drive.

They also had the Meerlust at just under £17.

Will let you know what these are like.

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tribs