Saint Clair Vicar's Choice Marlborough Pinot Noir 2015

Description

Fresh red cherry and raspberries combine with toasted spices with a full round palate weight, silky texture and a long savoury finish. Ripe red cherry, and fresh dried herb interweave with perfumed floral notes, spice and fresh coffee.

Perfect with smoked salmon, new potatoes and fresh summer greens.

Drinking well upon release, this wine can be enjoyed young and will continue to mature and develop complexity for the next four or five years.

The fruit was sourced from a number of specifically chosen low cropping vineyards planted in the Southern Valleys area of Marlborough. Leading up to harvest each vineyard was closely monitored and tasted to determine when the flavours were at their optimum and then harvested in the cool of the morning.

At the winery each batch (or vineyard) was held cold for five days prior to fermentation to help with colour and flavour extraction. The juice was then inoculated with yeast for the primary alcoholic fermentation and hand plunged up to eight times daily during the height of fermentation. When dry each batch was pressed to tank, settled and then racked off gross lees to either stainless steel tanks or a mixture of new and older seasoned French oak. The wine underwent 100 per cent malolactic fermentation before being blended, fined, lightly filtered and gently prepared for bottling.